


Runny Nose Reindeer

by KS_Claw, SumiSprite



Category: Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: Also a jab at how frikkin' old Pitch is, Animal Death, M/M, Or "why you shouldn't piss off a spirit of disease", Pitchmas, epidemic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-12-03
Updated: 2017-12-14
Packaged: 2018-01-03 08:51:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 26,022
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1068514
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KS_Claw/pseuds/KS_Claw, https://archiveofourown.org/users/SumiSprite/pseuds/SumiSprite
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When North refuses to help Pestilence, the Spirit of Disease, said Spirit infects his reindeer with an unknown illness. Now, the Guardian of Wonder has until the next Christmas to find either a cure, or someone who knows it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [plush_anon](https://archiveofourown.org/users/plush_anon/gifts).



> This is a fill for the RoTG Kink meme, which can be found [here](http://rotg-kink.dreamwidth.org/2389.html?thread=4547157). Extra foot notes marked with a number, can be found at the end of the chapter.

North always made certain to take a two months long break after Christmas. First of all, because his faithful Yetis deserved it, and second because it gave them a chance to take care of maintenance on some of the larger machines that otherwise seemed to run permanently through the year. With the break, they could do it in their own time without getting stressed over everything else. The rest of the time was used for relaxation the way the yetis (and North) preferred it.

Today was one of those days, where they were going through a maintenance list, as teams of other yetis and elves looked over the machines. The elves, being as small as they were, were able to look for parts at the inner workings of the machine that needed replacing, while the yetis, and sometimes North, took care of the heavy lifting among other things.

North was just in the middle of talking with one of his yetis about replacing some of the mechanisms, when there was the sharp jingling of a bell, signaling that there was someone at the door. North blinked a bit in surprise, as he wasn't really expecting any guests.

“See about that cogwheel, I will go see who it is.” North told his yeti, and set off towards the front door, in order to find out who it was. He could have sent an elf or a yeti, but sometimes during a maintenance day, it was nice to slip away if only for a few moments to clear your head, before you went back to work. It helped keeping you focused, North felt.

As he walked, he couldn't help but wonder who it might be. It was daytime on this part of the planet, so it couldn't be the Sandman. And Jack was busy, since he was still getting used to having believers, and a lot of the kids in Burgess had gotten ice-skates for Christmas. And it couldn't be Bunnymund, as the Pooka was tending to his Warren and getting things prepared to get his plants awakened for spring. Perhaps it was Tooth? It was hockey season, but she did have all her fairies to take care of her work for her.

For a moment, he almost wondered if it was Pitch Black, but that just made North snort a laugh. There hadn't been a hint of the Boogeyman since Easter, not since they had all seen him get dragged off by his own nightmares. And furthermore, why would he even use the doorbell, especially if he was only out to cause trouble again?

Maybe one of the yetis had locked himself out, North wondered, as he finally reached the door. It would make sense, really. Accidents happened, even in the home and workshop of Santoff Claussen. And sometimes, just sometimes, the elves liked to prank the massive yeti by locking them out from somewhere, though that was usually in the kitchens when there were freshly baked cookies on the line.

Whatever North had expected, it turned out that it was certainly not what was waiting for him when he opened the door.

In front of him stood a figure, hunched over while it leaned against a wooden staff for support. It was clad in leathery, almost bandage-like rags, and while they looked anything but warm, the figure didn't seem to be bothered at all by the cold.

The face was hidden by a large hood, and when the figure raised its head to look at the Guardian of Wonder, North found himself shivering slightly in apprehension, if not because of the crimson eyes now staring at him, then because the staff alone told him who his guest was.

At first glance, one would almost miss the mass of thin reeds that were tied at the bottom to form an almost primitive broom. They were worn and blackened from almost constant use, but they probably served their purpose well enough, North thought. Tied to the top of the staff was what looked like an old tin bell. It gave an almost bone-like rattling, as the owner of the staff bowed in polite greeting to the Guardian.(1)

"Nicholas St. North." The figure said in an almost groaning, hollow voice. "I hope I'm not intruding?"

Despite how eerie he found the sight of his guest, North managed to grin.

"Not at all!" He exclaimed, before stepping aside to allow the other inside. "Guests are always welcome at Santoff Claussen!" Especially, he thought, when the 'guest' was the current spirit in front of him.

He could feel the other smirk, the eyes narrowing in wry amusement. "Ah, but how often does one welcome Pestilence as a guest?" The other asked wryly, as it hobbled past North and into the workshop.

"Not often, I can imagine?" North suggested. The other spirit responded with a rasping "HAH!"

"Yeah it's not like I'm at the top of everyone's VIP list, amirite?” He cackled a bit, though it made it sound as if he was on the verge of an uncomfortable coughing fit. “Ah, but I kid, I kid. How is the whole Guardian business for ya? I hear you got yerself a new kid on the block."

“Indeed we do.” North said, as he did his best to ignore how both yeti and elves around them were quickly scurrying out of the way. “You might have heard of him, I think. Jack Frost?”

“Nipper o' noses Frost?” The other spirit asked, sounding genuinely surprised. “Huh, well who'd have thought? Yeah I know 'im, had a clash with 'im in Alaska once. I'd watch it if I were you, boy's got a temper!” Again, he made the rattling, rasping laugh. North grimaced, but made no comment, though he knew exactly what Pestilence was talking about. 1925 had been not been one of the best years he could remember, even though it had not all been bad.(2)

Once they arrived at North's office, the Guardian politely motioned for the other to take a seat in one of the chairs, before he picked an empty cup. "Eggnog? Or perhaps something else?" He asked, figuring it would be rude not to offer refreshments. “I also have other things, if you wish?”

“Naw, I'm good.” The other replied, waving him off. “My business should hopefully not take long.” He sat back in the chair, waiting patiently for North to sit down opposite of him.

“A'ight, so here's the deal. I want you to bring out some toys.”

North, having just sat down, raised a brow. “That is usually what I do. May I ask what you specifically mean?”

Pestilence responded with a snorting sound. “There's a couple of special places that I know about. Hell, you could almost say they're a sort of home ground for me, even though humanity's working on getting that fixed.”

North frowned. He had an inkling of where the other was going with this.“Places like hospitals?”

“Of a sort, yeah. Some of 'em are considered to be more like colonies.” The other spirit said, nodding as he crossed his arms, the bell at the end of his staff giving an idle jingle as he did so. “Anyway, these places all have kids, and I couldn't help but notice that they... well, they get a few things now an' then from their parents, if possible. But they have never received anything from ol' Saint Nick himself."

The Guardian of Wonder thoughtfully stroked his chin. “I think I see where you are going with this. You are speaking of the leprosy colonies.” He crossed his own arms, raising a brow at the other spirit. “It surprises me that you would care so much, Pestilence. Especially considering your track record back in the day...”

“Yeah yeah, I'm an asshole, I went a little overboard with ol' Bubo.”(3) Pestilence replied with an exasperated tone, waving a bandaged hand as if to brush away North's words. “Never mind that, though. It's been ages since that happened, and time passes, the world turns, et cetera and what have you.” The spirit huffed a bit, crossing his arms again.

“Back to the topic at hand, St. North. These kids... They're not bad kids, and they could really do with some cheering up of some sort. And frankly, I'm surprised that you've never really gone to them. I mean, it's kind of your job t' be able to take care of kids, right?”

“That is indeed true.”North agreed with a sage nod. “But while I would like to help these children... I simply can not.”

Pestilence frowned. “And... why exactly is that?” The crimson eyes narrowed, and there was a flash of garish teeth that were bared in a silent snarl. “Listen, if this has anything to do with-”

“I can assure you, it has nothing to do with your occupation.” North said, as he stood up and began to pace. Even though, he thought to himself, that perhaps Pestilence sometimes took a little too much pride in his work sometimes. Not that he was going to be so dumb as to say that directly to his face.

“The problem...” He said slowly,“lies more with... some of the result of your work."

“But I just told ya, these kids aren't bad!” Pestilence exclaimed.“Hell, most of the time they're too sick to even consider it! I oughta know, I've certainly had to watch them for long enough!”

North shook his head. “You do not understand, Pestilence." He stood up and began to slowly walk back and forth.

“As one of the Guardians, it is my sworn duty to protect children. This means in any way possible, be it to keep Wonder in children alive, or to protect them from physical harm.” He paused in front of one of the many shelves, where he reached up and took down a small wooden doll, that looked like a girl in a yellow dress. He turned it gently around in his large hands, as he continued to speak.

“This, as unfortunate as this may sound, includes horrible diseases.” He sighed, putting the doll gently back on the shelf. “I can not risk the health of children in the rest of the world. It is far too risky, and not just for myself! Oh I could easily protect myself, but my reindeer would be at a risk as well of carrying, and I simply do not dare take the chance!” He finally turned back, facing Pestilence once more.

“I can compromise, if you will, by making toys.”North then said, making a sweeping gesture in the direction of his office door and thereby out to the workshop. “Of that, I will always be happy to provide! Then, you yourself could hand them out! The children would not know the difference.”

Pestilence was silent, his eyes narrowed and seeming to glow in the darkness of the hood. Had the spirits hands not been wrapped in bandages, North would have seen that they were clenching so hard around the wooden staff, that they would have looked bone white.

“Funny. Really damn funny, St. North.” The spirit finally said. But his tone indicated that he was anything but amused. In a slow, almost liquid movement, he stood up, clutching his staff between his hands, and his head tilted, so that North could see just a bit of the spirits lower half of his face. His teeth were bared, yellowed and grimy to the point that it would have made Tooth faint if she had been present.

“You made a comment earlier, about how I seem to care a whole lot about kids, despite how my work has been the most dangerous for 'em over the centuries.” Pestilence sneered. “Ya think I haven't been harped a ton about that and other things since the old Dark Ages? 'Pestilence, why did the kids have to die?' 'Pest, why hasn't your disease got a cure?' 'Pestilence, give people a chance to recover!'”He scowled slightly. “Or my absolute favorite: 'Pestilence, was it absolutely necessary to poison a well so that London got that cholera outbreak?'”(4) He leaned forward at that, the bell on his staff giving a hard jangle, while giving North a hard glare with his crimson eyes that seemed to almost glow from the dark under the hood.

“Here's the deal, Guardian.” The spirit of Disease growled. “I know who I am. I am the very embodiment of Disease, just as you are the embodiment of Wonder. I know that I don't exactly bring sunshine and rainbows where I go. But here's a few interesting facts for ya.”

“For one thing, th' old song and dance about the different plagues? To humanity, a series of horrible disasters that took some recovering. To the spirit world, practically a massacre. To me? To quote popular fiction, it was a frikkin' tuesday.” He made a sneering sound. “Do I enjoy it? Sometimes, especially when people try to come up with some ridiculous cures. Don't get me started on what Greeks would do when it came to a frikkin' cold!”(5)

"But kids?” He then started, when North looked like he was about to interrupt him, “they can't help a lot of things. And they sure as hell can't help that they have weaker immune systems. And they sure as hell aren't stupid!”

North frowned at the others tone. “I never said they we-”

“For a Guardian, you aren't really that smart when it comes to kids!” Pestilence snarled, cutting him off. “You know why kids love getting presents from Santa? Because of what you yourself represent, which if you remember right, is wonder. But getting a gift from Santa doesn't just mean that, ya know? It means something that all your other Guardians give off too, even Nipper o' Noses!” The spirit curled his upper lip in a disgusted snarl. “You obviously missed the memo somewhere, about when it stopped being important. Oh wait, that memo never happened!”

The Guardian of Wonder found himself cringing slightly at that, as the others words brought an unpleasant memory to the surface.

_“We are very busy bringing joy to children! We don't have time... for children.”_

“Kids are not stupid.” Pestilence said again with a low growl. “They would _know_ that the gift wouldn't really be from you. You have a way of leaving that bit o' Guardian magic behind wherever you go. All of you Guardians do! But only if you have been there in person!” He shook his head in clear disgust. “I ain't no Guardian. Ain't ever gonna be eligible for obvious reasons! But I do know that I'd be more of a hindrance than a help to those kids.” He gave a rough shrug, sneering at the Guardian of Wonder. “But hey, you were at least willin' to take your time to invite me in and listen to what I had to say. So, you can have a little gift from _me_ to _you!_ ”

With that, Pestilence raised his staff and **_SLAMMED_** it into the floor, the bell rattling loudly. A mass of what looked like grey dust burst out from the bell, like spores from a fungi, North thought, before Pestilence waved his staff into the cloud and gathered it up, the dust seeming to swarm lightly around him, like bees would around a bee keeper, right before it seemed to swallow up Pestilence and took off, shooting quickly under the door and out to the workshop.

North set off quickly, practically bowling over one of his yeti who had been busy carrying a mass of parts for the machines, but the Guardian could only give a brief apology before he hurried on, running in the direction where he had seen a glimpse of the cloud. Somehow, he managed to follow it to the Globe room, where he just saw it disappear over the rafters and downwards, which meant that Pestilence was heading for...

“The stables!” North swore, and quickly set off for one of the elevators that would take him to the right level, alerting the yetis of what was going on.

Unfortunately, he was not fast enough. North arrived just in time to see Pestilence right at the door to the stables, and sweeping the floor in front of it with the broom part of his staff.(6) The spirit of Disease gave the Guardian and the yetis that had followed him a shit-eating grin.

“Pestilence!” North bellowed. “What have you done!”

The spirit of Disease grinned, giving a deep, mocking bow.

“Why, I simply went to leave my gift for the ones that I know will appreciate it, oh Guardian of Wonder!” He cackled. “Which would be the ones you seem to care more about, rather than kids who could have used some of your Wonder.”

North's eyes widened in horror. “The reindeer...”

“That's right...” Pestilence retorted, all humor and mock politeness gone, as he scowled nastily at North. “I'm not so big an asshole, that I'm just gonna go and target all the kids in the world. So I decided to go for a more _personal_ target. And what is more personal than Santa's own trusty reindeer!” North had already shoved past him then, hurrying into the stables and looking around at the animals. At first glance, there didn't seem to be anything wrong... but then one of the bucks made a nasty coughing sound, and North could already see that its eyes were running, and its nose was clotted up, its mouth open wide as it seemed to have trouble breathing. And it wasn't the only one.

“Normally, I am all for letting things take their time.” Pestilence said lazily, looking at his nails with a critical look. “But this time... I felt like skipping a couple o' steps.”He smirked coldly, his crimson eyes unsympathetic. “You got until next Christmas t' get your four-legged flight engines in top shape again. But, heh...” and here he gave a nasty chuckle. “I wouldn't _hold my breath_ on that happening.”

North turned his head and glared hard at the spirit of Disease. “And why exactly is that?!” He growled.

“'Cause it's an old favorite I decided to dig out.” Pestilence retorted with a grin. “In fact, it's so old that it died out, long before humans started bothering learning properly how to figure out diseases. Hell, they hadn't even started getting civilized yet! So don't count on there being a special veterinary cure, or vaccine for humans while you're at it!” He cackled nastily, his bell rattling drily as he began to wander off.

“In other words, I have a feeling a lot of kids are gonna end up gettin' disappointed with Christmas this year! _HAH!_ ”

And with a nasty hacking laugh, the spirit of Disease disappeared.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My god there are a ton of footnotes in this story. I never thought I'd be doing any of these, but there's a couple of historical references in this chapter alone that I thought I would make a note about, and that I hope you guys will find interesting.  
> 1- Historical trivia 1: in the Dark Ages, when lepers were known for wandering the country, they had staffs with bells tied to them, to alert people about their presence.  
> 2- 1925 was not the best of years. Alaska is a reference to the Serum Run of 1925, which took place in January. Among other things from that, we had Mussolini declaring his dictatorship, a couple of earthquakes, Hitler getting Mein Kampf published, two teachers getting put on trial for teaching about Evolution, and the KKK were allowed to hold a massive parade in Washington D.C.  
> Of the more positive things, The Great Sphinx of Giza was unearthed and the first television images were successfully transmitted. You can see more on Wikipedia what else happened that year.  
> 3- Bubo – Comes from the Greek work “boubôn” which means groin, mainly due to the location of where the boils from the Bubonic Plague (and other diseases) shows up. Other places were the arm pits. In some places, such as Italy, the name was seen as a reference to the Pope's ring, because the bubonic plague was seen as God's punishment, especially towards children.  
> 4- More specifically, the 1854 Cholera epidemic in Broadstreet, SoHo, London. The reason this happened, was because of a cesspit, that leaked fecal bacteria into the water of a local waterpump that everyone else were using. As a result, 616 people died. The works of the physician John Snow later helped influence public health and the construction of improved sanitation facilities beginning in the 19th century.  
> 5- The Ancient Greeks had the *weirdest* ideas on how to cure diseases. Among others, one involved tying the dried penis of a fox or a badger to your head.  
> 6- Historical trivia 2: In some places during the Bubonic Plage, people believed that the Plague took the form of an old woman. She would carry a broom around and sweep on the doorsteps of houses, that were going to be infected with the epidemic.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a fill for the RoTG Kink meme, which can be found [here.](http://rotg-kink.dreamwidth.org/2389.html?thread=4547157) Extra foot notes marked with a number, can be found at the end of the chapter.

Chapter 2  
  
The first thing North made certain of, was to completely evacuate the stables. It was only pure luck that none of the elves had been there, but North decided to find out why that was later (though knowing them, it had to be food related). Instead, he searched out all the different elf tunnels that went through the stables, and then proceeded to close and lock them up, and added a warding spell for good measure. The ones he couldn't get to in person, were found with a spell, before they too were closed and locked up.  
  
When that was done, North sent one of his yeti to set off the Aurora Borealis, so that the other Guardians could be summoned.  
  
The time waiting was one he spent berating himself. Because if one had to be brutally honest, he had been far too hasty in rejecting Pestilence. The other spirits words kept coming back to him, and it left him with a sour taste in his mouth.  
  
_Nicholas St. North, you are a fool._ He thought darkly to himself. _And you call yourself a Guardian... You had plenty of time to come up with some kind of idea at least. But no, you had to reject Pestilence, simply because of your issues..._ At the thought of it, he shuddered, but forced down his disgust.  
  
Yes, lepers were not one of the things he had been the most fond of when he was a child. But that was no excuse now, when he as a very adult man, should have been able to overcome such... apprehensions. And even more when it came to helping the children that suffered from it.  
  
_Dubiina!_ (1) North thought darkly. Despite how crude he had been about it, Pestilence had meant well when it had come to his request. The children had need of North, just as much as anyone else. And to refuse helping them, was to go against his very own oath.  
  
_Good or bad, naughty or nice, we protect them._ The Guardian of Wonder thought bitterly, and glanced upwards towards the skylight for a moment. While the moon wasn't visible, North couldn't help but wonder if Manny had noticed things. And if he had, why had he not said anything?  
  
While he thought about this, North went around and examined his reindeer, frowning as he looked over their symptoms and wrote them down on a clipboard. Perhaps one of the others would have an idea of what disease it was that Pestilence had been talking about? It didn't look good, and one of the reindeer had  coughed up a massive amount of green slime, while North was examining it. The Guardian wrote it down quickly, and quietly prayed for a solution.  
  
_Whatever this disease is,_ he thought, _I am going to need all the help I can get._  
  
\-----  
  
The second precaution North had taken, had started the moment that the other Guardians had appeared.  
  
They had been informed very sternly to keep out of a certain range, especially since North had no idea how this disease got spread. Having been as close to his reindeer as he had, in order to examine them, the Guardian of Wonder wasn't taking any chances, even though he had taken a scalding shower before the meeting in the hopes of decontaminating himself.  
  
Especially since two of the Guardians basically were related to animals, with Tooth being part bird, while Bunnymund was a giant rabbit. The last thing anyone needed, was for them to get sick as well, especially with Bunny getting ready for Easter again. Last years disaster had been bad enough.  
  
And then there was Jack. He played with kids and their animals almost every day, and while his amount of believers were growing steadily, it was still a fragile position. Pestilence's comment on Alaska alone had been enough to remind North of that.  
  
Better safe than sorry, as they said.  
  
"... And that is the whole story." North said, as he finished his story with a heavy sigh. "I have looked most of the animals over, and many of them are affected. It is only luck that I thought to separate the pregnant does from the herd three weeks ago. I do not dare think what effect there would the disease might have on them otherwise."(2)  
  
The other Guardians, seated as far from North as possible, nodded in agreement.  
  
"Is there anything we can do to help?" Tooth asked with a worried look. "I mean, there has to be something. Right Bunny? Next to Sandy, you're one of the oldest of us."  
  
"And you have all those plants too." Jack agreed. "Can't you make a remedy or something? I mean, you're good at whipping up a lot of stuff on the run."(3)  
  
Bunnymund huffed, crossing his arms. "It ain't that simple..." He rumbled. "I only know remedies for a few things, and those are for th' few humanoid illnesses I know! I never really went for the veterinary line o' medicine, and even if I did, there's th' risk of gettin' sick with whatever is wrong with his antlered brumbies if I got too close." He looked to Jack with a harder frown. "An' more than that, as North pointed out, we don't know if it affects kids."  
  
The winter spirits expression darkened. "Knowing old boil-face, it wouldn't be good if it did.” He muttered. North frowned, but made no comment about it. Instead, he looked towards Sandman, who was hovering in the air with a cup of eggnog in one hand, and a very thoughtful expression.  
  
“Sandy? Any thoughts?”  
  
The Dream Weaver frowned, shaking his head slightly. With a series of carefully woven signs, he expressed his sympathies for North's situation. While he as a star was much older than any of the Guardians, he had never really been one to be affected himself by diseases. Children played in the muck and sand every day, and for the most part, they were fine, which was one reason that Sandy could assure, that North wouldn't have to worry about him. _Because let's be honest,_ he signed with a raised brow, _someone has to keep an eye on you._  
  
North simply sighed. “But that does not mean you can help, does it now.” He concluded.  
  
Sandy shook his head in an apologetic way. _I am terribly sorry,_ he signed, _but in all my time, I have only been concerned with sea creatures. There are very few mammals I know how to treat, and they do not include reindeer._ (4)  
  
_But!_ He added, using an exclamation mark to make his point, _I do think I know someone who can help. He has been around almost even longer than I, and for as long as I have known him, he has always had an interest in Pestilence's diseases and on how to cure them. He saw it as a sort of sport..._ He grimaced slightly at that.  _There is just one small problem._  
  
“Well tell us what it is!” Bunny exclaimed impatiently. “Does this guy demand special payment or somethin'?” He snorted at that, looking towards his fellow Guardians. “I mean, if he's one o' those ol' Giants, then we could probably trick the cure out of 'im.”(5) An impatient tapping on the shoulder from the Sandman silenced him, and he looked back to see the other shaking his head firmly.  
  
_He is not an old Giant,_ the Dream Weaver said. _The reason that I think he might not want to help us... is because of how we defeated him last Easter._  
  
There was a deep ringing silence for a moment, and then Bunnymund hid his face behind his paws with a pained groan. North echoed the motion by running a hand down across his own face, before he lightly pinched the bridge of his nose, as if attempting to ward off a migraine.  
  
Tooth grimaced herself, though she looked like she couldn't decide if it should be in worry or dismay, while Jack just watched it all with a raised eyebrow.  
  
“So, you're saying the only one who might be able to help us is Pitch Black?” When the Sandman nodded, Jack blinked, then made a ' _hrm_ ' sound, and stood in silence for a while, before he finally shrugged.  
  
“Alright then, let's go get him.”  
  
Bunny froze completely where he sat, before he slowly lifted his head, and glared firmly at Jack.  
  
“What... Did you just say?” He growled.  
  
“Before you say anything yourself,” Jack responded quickly, “think about it! None of us know how to take care of this disease. And we don't know anyone else who might, except Pitch, and of course Pestilence.” When none of the others said anything, he continued, “and from how it's going with the reindeer, we can either try to get help from Pitch, while searching for someone else who might know how to help the reindeer, or we can search for someone else _right now_ , and waste precious time that we _don't have!_ ”  
  
The others looked at him in slightly stunned silence at that, but then Bunnymund growled, crossing his arms with huff.  
  
“Alrigh', fine. But I ain't goin' after him. Not on yer nelly.”  
  
“I hate to sound like a coward...” Tooth said quietly, “but I would rather not go as well.” She shuddered, hugging herself. “My fairies told me about how it was down there, while they were captured, and I just... _oogh!_ ” She grimaced in dismay, her tail feathers shivering slightly.  
  
“It is alright, Tooth. No one is forcing you or Bunny to do anything.” North said soothingly. “No, I think it is best if only Jack, Sandy and I go. And perhaps one or two yeti. So long as we keep a certain distance from each other, I do not think the disease will spread between us. And with where we are going, there will be plenty of space.”  
  
“What would we need yeti for?” Jack asked curiously.  
  
North shrugged. “In case Pitch struggles. If he knows how to treat reindeer, we must bring him here whether he likes it or not. So yeti can sneak up on him if necessary.”  
  
“Ye're all outta yer bloody mind.” Bunny muttered darkly.  
  
\----------------------------------  
  
Bunny was at least willing to help by opening a tunnel to Pitch's lair, since they couldn't be certain how the magic in Norths snowglobes would react to the Boogeymans realm, especially with their old enemy being as weak as he was.(6)  
  
But first they made preparations, based on some of Jacks descriptions. Even if Pitch was weakened, it didn't mean his realm wasn't dangerous, or any less of a maze. So rope was one of the things brought, along with a few lanterns, just in case. (7)  
  
Much to Tooth's surprise, one of her own fairies volunteered to come along, chirping eagerly as she flew around Jacks head, before settling on his shoulder and nuzzling happily against his neck. Jack laughed softly when both he and the Guardian of Memories realized that the little fairy was Baby Tooth.  
  
"She knows Pitch's lair." He told Tooth, "and she could be of great help." His tone indicated however, that Tooth had the final say on the matter.  
  
Tooth frowned as she looked at the little fairy, who was giving her the fairy equivalent of puppy eyes. In her own thrilling language, she assured her queen that she would be careful and not get in the way at all!  
  
"All right..." Tooth finally sighed, before she pointed warningly at Baby Tooth, "but you do as Jack says, and if something happens, you do _NOT_ put yourself in danger!"  
  
Baby Tooth chirped in agreement, before snuggling thoroughly into Jacks hoodie.  
  
When they were certain that they were ready, Bunny begrudgingly informed them, that if they were gone for more than three hours, he would come down after them.  
  
"I don't trust Pitch any more than I c'n throw 'im. So better safe than sorry." He said gruffly. Jack just grinned in response.  
  
"Aww Bunny, you _do_ care!"  
  
"Oh hush up, ya bloody galah." The Pooka scoffed. Then he tapped his foot, and a tunnel opened in front of them. "A'right, this is goin' to take ya straight to Pitch's lair. Ya sure yer gonna be alright?"  
  
"We will be fine. Sandy says he has a plan of some kind." North said, while glancing at the Dream weaver. Sandy nodded, before he in his own language signed that they first had to find the Boogeyman. But as soon as they did, he should be able to make his plan work, depending on how things turned out. For all they knew, Pitch might actually help them, simply in return for a price.  
  
"Yeah well, whatever ya got in mind, it better be good." The Pooka rumbled. The Dream Weaver nodded, and then floated down into the tunnel in order to light the way.  
  
After him came Jack, and finally, once he had ensured there was proper 'quarantine distance' between them, North followed with two of his yetis, who had the rope tied between them for when they entered Pitch's lair. The trip was slower this time, unlike when they had traveled to the Warren, which had been more of a surprise roller coaster ride. But they still made pretty good time, even as the tunnel got darker and darker.  
  
They soon came out of the tunnel and into the wider space of Pitch's lair. It was just as large and eerie as Jack remembered it, with the cages that the Tooth fairies had been trapped in hanging above them.  
  
Baby Tooth gave a soft chirp in apprehension, but was brave enough to carefully fly up so she could get a proper bird's eye view. Jack smiled encouragingly, then looked around with a frown while gripping his staff tightly in his hands.  
  
“Which way, Jack?” North asked quietly. Behind him, the yetis had arrived and had readied their own weapons and were ready to move out.    
  
Jack looked to Sandy, who simply nodded silently, telling him to lead the way. The winter spirit began to move forward, listening intensely as he did so. For the moment, all that could be heard was the light fluttering of Baby Tooth's wings as she flew ahead to carefully scout the area, the subtle, but still heavier footsteps of the yetis, and the gentle breathing of everyone else, along with the very light creaking of the old cages above.  
  
They soon found a small flight of stairs, which lead them up to what Jack had basically assumed was the center of the Boogeyman's lair. On the platform it lead to, they found the globe that showed all the children in the world who believed in the Guardians, its lights casting shadows around them. North frowned when he saw it however, and grumbled something under his breath about 'black sand'.(8) Jack looked to him at that, but when the Guardian of Wonder made no further comment, he made a mental note to ask him about it later. The Yetis, Jack noted, had disappeared and were nowhere to be seen. For being so large and imposing, the enormous creatures could be incredibly silent as well, and Jack had no doubt that if they did find Pitch, he wouldn't see them coming.  
  
Sandy on his part floated up to the top of the globe, where he landed and then made a show of scouting along with Baby Tooth, before he looked to the others and shrugged. He hadn't seen the Boogeyman at all.  
  
“Where could Pitch be?” Jack asked out loud, and tried not to flinch when his voice echoed around them unexpectedly in a faint series of _'be... be... be...'_. It made sense that the acoustics would go crazy however, when you thought about it. Since the place wasn't filled to almost the bursting point with the Tooth boxes this time around, sounds were thrown around much more easily.  
  
It also made it a lot more harder to distinguish where sounds were coming from however. As the echo of his words faded, Jack felt the familiar niggling sensation, of someone who wasn't present watching him. It was impossible to tell from where though, but he had no doubt about who it was.  
  
“Pitch!” He called out instead. “We know you're here somewhere!” Again, the last word echoed the most into a faint _'where...ere...re...'_. This time however, there came a response in the form of a sharp whinnying, the loud screeching sound ringing painfully in everyone's ears, right before the black, unmistakeable shape of a Nightmare suddenly came galloping through the air, zig-zagging between the cages until it disappeared out of sight. There was a brief garbling of yeti voices, which suggested that the massive abominables had startled the Nightmare from wherever it had been roosting.  
  
" _You have some nerve!_ " The unmistakeable voice of the Boogeymans hissed from the shadows. The three Guardians looked around, their weapons wielded, but there was no sign of the Nightmare King. They could sense his presence though, and kept looking, searching the darkness. It was almost impossible to see properly though, even with the glowing lights from the globe.  
  
_"Not enough to defeat me, is it? Now you come to invade my home?!"_ Pitch snarled, "or perhaps  your precious Man in the Moon finally decided, that I should be finished off for good? About time then, if that's the case.”  
  
Sandy frowned, and began to make a series of signs with his sands. Some were in his usual charade language, showing an ' _S.O.S_ ', and the Guardian symbol.  
  
There came a snarling laugh at that.  
  
_"And what makes you think I'm going to help you lot? You seemed awfully content to let me be dragged down here to **rot!** "_  
  
North on his part seemed to be listening intently, before he seemed to realize something. He gave Sandy a look, which the Dream Weaver seemed to understand. The Sandman in return very discreetly made a tiny sand symbol in the form of the three Guardians making goofy gestures, while a teeny version of Baby Tooth hovered over a tiny figure of Pitch.  
  
Jack understood at once, and so did the mini fairy, who discreetly disappeared into the shadows herself. Only a few faint glimpses of green and blue showed her presence, at least while she was close enough to the globe.    
  
"Yeah well, you kind of brought that on yourself." The Winter Spirit called out loud. “Frightening kids, and giving them Nightmares? Not exactly the best thing.”  
  
_"Always easier to talk big, isn't it, Frost."_ Pitch growled. _"Especially now that you're a member of the big leagues. But is it truly worth it?"_ There was a nasty chuckling at that. _“Did they pay any attention to you, during North's holiday at all?”_ The Winter spirit narrowed his eyes, but Sandy put a hand on his shoulder, before flashing a series of signs. _Jack is worth more than you could ever imagine._  
  
"We will always have each others back." North agreed gruffly, "especially at a time like this."  
  
The words were touching, and Jack found himself smiling slightly at the older Guardian, but Pitch scoffed at them.  
  
_"I would normally love to demonstrate what I can achieve in my own domain,"_ he said drily. " _But since you brought **the glow-in-the-dark cat pan** , I feel it isn't worth it."_  
  
Sandy's jaw dropped, and his eyes went wide, right before he went a dark orange color with anger. Jack couldn't help but think, that if they had not been on their current mission, the Boogeyman would have been in for a solid beating. That Pitch could be heard chuckling from somewhere, clearly secure in that the others couldn't find him, didn't really help.  
  
Suddenly, there was a loud squealing from Baby Tooth, along with a surprised snarl, which was followed by the sounds of a violent struggle. Judging from the triumphant shout from one of the yetis however, it had been very one-sided. The Mini Fairy soon came darting out of wherever she had been, followed shortly by the yetis, who came into sight while carrying a sack between them. Something inside of the sack was struggling furiously, while muffled swearing could be heard. Pitch might have been weakened in some ways, but physically he was still able to put up quite a fight.  
  
“As you say yourself,” North said with a grin, as he looked towards the sack, while still keeping his distance, “big words are always easy. But sometimes, action is better!”  
  
A muffled snarl could be heard from the sack, and the yetis yelped as Pitch kicked towards them in an attempt to get free. They would probably have lost their grip too if Sandy, still scowling about the insulting 'cat pan' comment, had not summoned up a ball of Dream Sand, which he then tossed at said sack. It hit it right on the side, with its cargo going limp, as the sand took the shape of golden butterflies that began to circle around the bottom of it.  
  
North huffed a bit. “Thank you, Sandy.” He then frowned, looking towards the others. “Now, let us go back to the work shop. We have much to do!” He turned and began to walk back towards the still open tunnel that Bunny had provided for them. Once at the proper distance, the two yetis followed, with Sandy hovering after them, scowling at the sack whenever it seemed like it might move in a wrong way, with another ball of sand ready in his hands.  
  
Jack glanced at Baby Tooth, as the two followed their friends to get back to North's workshop. “Yeah, let's agree to never call him any names.” He muttered. The tiny fairy chirped in agreement.  
  
In the darkness behind them, the shapes of several Nightmares carefully peered out from assorted hiding spaces. It was only the presence of the Sandman that had kept them from coming to their master's aid. But they would be ready, should he summon them for any reason whatsoever.  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1- Dubiina – Russian for idiot
> 
> 2- I figure that while Pestilence did go for the main stables, he didn't look elsewhere during his temper tantrum, so the Does are in a separate stable. The disease might still be carried to them, but North will be taking his precautions as we will see in future chapters
> 
> 3- According to the book, Bunny has invented a lot of things to try and help mankind, including jokes, spring, summer vacations and other stuff.
> 
> 4- For all we know, these mammals includes dolphins and whales, and maybe smaller critters like cats or dogs.
> 
> 5- Going for a bit of the classic mythology here. In some stories, there are giants or similar beings, that are known for having a “cures everything” object, be it a potion or a house hold object like a comb or something. The hero of the story either gets this object as a reward, or through trickery.
> 
> 6- we know how the Guardians' magic was pretty much warped, as they lost their powers. Tooth molted like crazy, North literally felt his age, and lost his ability to handle his reindeer, and Bunny became mini!Bunny. So who knows what might have happened fully with Pitch? We could go by the example by Rufftoons comics, but we don't know how it might have affected his lair. Cartoon logic states, that if a villain with magical origin loses power, his home usually goes down with him.
> 
> 7- Important note for cave climbing. Always have a rope so you can stay close together in groups, and always have plenty of light. Especially if the cave is the kind that changes its surroundings if necessary.
> 
> 8- According to one of the Dreamworks people, in the opening scene where Pitch spreads black sand all over North's globe, he basically did this in order to hack the globe and “download” all the information he could find, about where there was a child that believed in the Guardians.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pitch is talked into helping the reindeer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I just want to give a huuuuge thank you to [Sumi-Sprite](http://archiveofourown.org/users/SumiSprite/pseuds/SumiSprite), who has been helping me out with this story from the beginning, with help from some important story notes, and for helping me co-write this chapter. Go read her stories now, she's an awesome writer <3

The return trip to Santoff Claussen somehow felt longer and more tedious, which was partially because everything was going upwards instead of down. This made it difficult to keep the quarantine distance that North wanted. And that the yetis had to deal with a slowly waking, and no doubt very cranky Boogeyman, didn't help either.  
  
Eventually, as they got close to their destination, both Sandy and Jack took the iniative to help out by grabbing the sack. That way they could move faster, and while North frowned at first, he sighed and waved them off.  
  
"Just be careful. Pitch may be weak, but he is still clever."  
  
"Don't worry, we got this!" Jack replied with a grin before he grabbed the sack and heaved it onto a golden cloud that the Dreamweaver had conjured. As soon as they appeared out of the hole, they were met by Tooth and Bunny who had both been waiting anxiously. Bunny sniffed suspiciously at the bag and scowled, backing away instantly. "Whatever you got planned, Sandy, it better work."  
  
The Dreamweaver gave a silent snort, before he floated the bag over to one of the support pillars, before he promptly upended the bag, which had Pitch landing hard on the floor with a loud smacking sound.  
  
Bunny blinked in surprise. "Huh. Not that I particularly mind, but what's up with Sandy?"  
  
Jack grimaced, recalling just how frikkin' pissed Sandy had looked back in the lair. "Let's just say Pitch said something he shouldn't have."  
  
At that moment, North finally reappeared, having gone ahead so that the Yetis would be out of range. Jack and Bunny quickly moved away as well, and when the Yeti eventually arrived, the Guardian of Hope closed the hole.  
  
Pitch scrambled to his feet, openly snarling at the assembled Guardians. He bristled like a pissed off cat, teeth bared and fists clenched.  
  
"What is the _MEANING OF THIS!?_ " he shrieked.  
  
The Guardians all winced slightly at the sheer volume of the rather ruffled Boogeyman's obvious displeasure.  
  
The Sandman stepped up first at that, frowning as he signed with his sand that so the other had best calm down, or so help him! (Clearly, he was still very miffed at having been called a flying litterbox).  
  
North drew in a deep breath, crossing his arms. "Sandy tells us, that you know how to cure old diseases." He said brusquely.  
  
Pitch scowled at the Sandman, before averting his heated gaze to North. His eyes narrowed as he regarded the Guardian of Wonder.  
  
"Oh really?" he droned, "How lovely, I'm sure everything else he's said about me has been just as pleasant."  
  
Bunnymund snorted at that. "Like there's anythin' pleasant 'bout ya." Tooth gave him a light twack over the arm at that, while North didn't avert his gaze.  
  
"Reindeer are sick," he said. "And it requires special treatment, which Sandy says you know."  
  
It took a moment for Pitch to process just what North had said. But once it sank in, a smile slowly broke over his face. It soon turned into a grin followed by a slow snickering, and before anyone could question what was so funny, the Boogeyman was doubled over and laughing like he had been told the world's funniest joke.  
  
The Guardians jumped slightly at the sudden turn of events, watching as Pith clutched his sides in mirth. His laughter soon settled however, and he was left chuckling slightly as he straightened, grinning at the Guardians.  
  
"You-you're joking," he rasped, "You have got to be _joking!_ Hah! What is this really about? You want me to change my ways? Perhaps you want me to scare off some poor bastard that just had the absolute gall to rise up against you?"  
  
Bunny scowled at that. "Oh believe me, we'd be handlin' it ourselves if we could. Like we'd need the likes of you around ever again-"  
  
" _North pissed off Pestilence._ " Jack shot in, before the Pooka could say anything, that would make things worse. "And in return, Pestilence made North's reindeer sick. If they don't get the right treatment, they'll die. And Sandy says you're one of the only few spirits who might know how to deal with it."  
  
"'Least 'till we find a better solution." Bunnymund muttered under his breath.  
  
Jack's words made Pitch pause, eyes narrowing.  
  
"Pestilence?" he said slowly, " _you_ actually angered _Pestilence?_ What the bloody hell is _wrong_ with you, Cossack!? What? Did he ask for an arm or a leg and you just _had_ to say no? You didn't make fun of his broom did you?"  
  
"Look!" North bellowed impatiently, "I made mistake, reindeer are paying for it. You are the only one who can help us."  
  
"Ask him to take back the disease!" Pitch exclaimed in return, "Beg him if you must! And take me with you while you're at it, I would surely _love_ to see you on your knees begging for his mercy."  
  
North scowled at that, and actually took a step forward as if to make a grab for the Boogeyman, to either grab and shake him, or just punch him. But Sandy stepped forward at that, giving his fellow Guardians a meaningful ' _I'll handle this'_ look, before he turned to Pitch with a smug-looking expression.  
  
An arrow formed out of his dream sand at that, pointing first at Pitch, then at himself, before the arrow dissolved and formed into three letters: _I O U._  
  
The Boogeyman felt his eyes widen slightly. His hands clenched into knuckle-white fists, his face flushing in repressed rage. It was quite an interesting sight for the Guardians, considering how composed the Boogeyman could otherwise appear most of the time.  
  
"You snide, son of a..." he growled, "If you honestly think for one moment that I _owe_ you anything other than a knife in the back...!"  
  
Sandy tisked, waving a finger at Pitch with a smirk. More sand images formed over his head in rapid succession, most lost on the Guardians, but clear as day to Pitch. The Boogeyman scowled, gritting his teeth and making Tooth cringe.  
  
" _You...!_ " he growled, pacing the floor in agitation briefly, before turning back to the Sandman, " _Fine!_ But i am only here to help cure North's precious little reindeer, _nothing more!_ You cannot ask anymore of me, deal?"  
  
The Dreamweaver simply smirked, before giving a simple thumbs up. It earned him a scowl from the Boogeyman, and a very confused look from Jack.  
  
"How... exactly does he owe you anything, Sandy?" He asked carefully, afraid of looking very ignorant, especially considering it seemed to be Guardian business. The Sandman replied by showing some slower images of a certain, very familiar battle around Easter, with a tiny figure of Pitch shooting Sandy, the figure of the Dreamweaver first disappearing in a cloud of dream sand, only to reappear seemingly moments later.  
  
It took a moment, before North barked out a laugh, earning a nasty glare from Pitch.  
  
"Pitch didn't succeed in killing Sandy off permanently!" The larger Guardian explained. "He technically only injured him badly, so as a result, he now owes Sandy a favor until he says otherwise."(1)  
  
Pitch scoffed, crossing his arms with a scowl, "You call it a favor, I call it a cruel irony. Now let's get this over with, I have better things to do than babysit your little reindeer."  
  
North motioned for them all to follow, with Sandy following close by, while Jack, Bunny and Tooth trailed a bit behind at a cautious distance. When they reached the stables, North was a bit disgruntled to discover that some of the elves had gone into the stables, despite his warnings. He shouldn't have been surprised, he supposed, since some of the elves took great pride in their work, including taking care of the reindeer.  
  
Besides, clever little buggers that they were, they had taken their own precautions by making their own versions of biohazard suits. And someone had to make sure the stables at least were cleaned out.  
  
Pitch though, did not say anything as the hazmat clad little elves scurried about, many giving him a wide berth. His arms crossed, he surveyed the rather pristine stables with his gaze alone.  
  
"Impressive..." he grudgingly admitted.  
  
North allowed himself a proud smile. The stables were one of the parts of the North Pole that he was the most proud of, if he had to say so himself, mostly because of the efficiency. The elves were a sobering sight however, and he let out a huff. "Reindeer are this way." He said, before he lead Pitch over to where the reindeer were.  
  
The animals were a pitiful sight. The few of them that were able to stand, were hanging their heads and barely reacted as North came over to them, petting them gently as he looked them over. The elves were trying to do theirs, one of them popping up from behind one of the animals while carrying a thermometer. It shook its head while holding it up to North, telling him in its own way, that it was not looking good.  
  
"It looks like it's gotten worse since we were here last..." Jack muttered to Bunnymund, who gave a grim nod.  
  
"Pestilence did say he'd sped it up, whatever it is he's cooked up." He replied, his long ears twitching.  
  
The two regarded Pitch to gauge his reactions. So far, he didn't seem to be expressing anything outside of flat, though contemplative, look as he observed the reindeer. He tapped a long finger to his chin thoughtfully as he observed a female in its stable. He looked over at North with narrowed eyes.  
  
"I am assuming any and all pregnant does have been removed from the others, correct?" he questioned. His tone suggested he certainly hoped North had quarantined any expecting reindeer, but his expression wasn't in any way expectant.  
  
"They were removed three weeks ago," North replied, "but that is standard procedure when they're close to term." He huffed a sigh. "They have not shown any symptoms, but I will not say no if you wish to examine them as well." Just in case, he thought to himself. Because you quite never knew when it came to Pestilence. After all, some of his favourite diseases were the kind that could take a long time to discover.  
  
"Hmm..." Pitch hummed noncommittally, "Good. Now, where do you keep your medicine for the animals?"  
  
"Right this way." North replied, showing him the way to a cupboard over by the other wall. It was fairly large, which made sense considering the amount of reindeer they had to take care of, but when opened, there were only a few bottles that were revealed.  
  
Brows creased, Pitch started riffling through the medical supplies - what little there were anyways.  
  
"Flea control, tick repellant, pain killers, deer treats, what _is_ all this rubbish?" he exclaimed, glaring at North, "Where are the vitamins? The joint supplements? The vaccines, fluid bags, medical aids, sterilizers, medical tools, the damn _RABIES_ shots!?"  
  
"Why would he need those?" Jack asked confused, before Pitch gave him incredulous look.  
  
"Oh I don't know, maybe its because they're what keep domesticated animals _alive?_ " He retorted.  
  
North grimaced on his part. "They were used up before New Years. Christmas is a very busy season, and while stock is on its way, it will not be here for at least another three days."(2)  
  
Pitch's brow twitched, and he closed the cupboard a little more roughly than he should have.  
  
"Brilliant. Just _brilliant_ ," he said, "you going to tell me you don't file their teeth down regularly now? If they bite their own tongues or cheeks, they'll get an infection!"  
  
"Ah...Toothy usually takes care of that." North said with a shrug. Pitch scoffed.  
  
"Of course..." With a deft motion with his hand, Pitch summoned a dog sized Nightmare, startling the others, "Oh relax! She's going to help!" he snapped.  
  
He looked down at the small Nightmare, "Get me my supplies. Splurge the medical ward, and bring me the examination tools, _now_." Without a wasted second, the Nightmare gave a shrill neigh and vanished into a shadow. Pitch looked back at the Guardians, raising a brow, "Well don't just stand there! Take me to the ones most severely effected!"  
  
North frowned, but he lead the way anyway.  
  
"These were the ones affected first," he explained, as they got to the stables. The three reindeer in question looked even worse than the others, one of them lying down in his stable, while one female was heaving for breath, as if she had been out for a hard run. She gave a complaining groan when North gently rubbed her neck.  
  
Bunnymund scowled at it all, crossing his arms. "I don't like that galah's attitude." He rumbled, glaring at Pitch. "Actin' all high an' mighty, an' as if North dun take care of his beasts."  
  
"At least I got their teeth filed before they got sick..." Tooth said quietly, rubbing her shoulders awkwardly. "That's at least something... right?"  
  
The Pooka was about to reply, when there was a sharp whinnying. Out from the shadows came the dog-sized Nightmare along with three others, all of them carrying what looked like some kind of large saddlebags. The leading Nightmare that Pitch had summoned first, instantly ran up to its master with what looked like a doctor's bag in its mouth.  
  
Pitch looked down from looking over a buck when his leg was nudged by the small Nightmare, "Ah, finally."  
  
The Nightmare set the bag down, and he took out a small flashlight from it. Switching it on, he pried open the buck's mouth and shined the light inside it, eyes narrowing as he took a peek inside.  
  
"Tongue is pale and a bit cracked, dehydrated..." he muttered to himself, "Teeth are fine...palette is inflamed, throat is definitely red..."  
  
The buck suddenly choked and hocked up what they could only describe as either phlegm or bile, and right onto Pitch's front. The others looked quite sick and worried all at once, but Pitch didn't so much as bat an eyelash. Instead he took a rag out of the bag and wiped the mess off, before using the clean side to wipe off any remains from the sickly animal's mouth.  
  
"How long has this been going on?" he asked.  
  
"A full day." North replied, crossing his arms with a frown. "Pestilence simply said it was 'an old favourite' that originally died out, before humans had even become civilized."  
  
Pitch sighed, "Figures..." He went back to checking over another reindeer, this time checking it's eyes, "Their dilation is normal, so it's nothing neurological..."  
  
Jack cocked his head, leaned towards Tooth, "How does he know all this stuff...?"  
  
The fairy queen shrugged, "He's always been a horse enthusiast, so maybe it stems from that...?"  
  
Sandy chipped in by forming a sand image of Pitch hugging a horse with little hearts around them. (3) He giggled silently to himself while Jack raise a brow.  
  
"And here I thought the 'Night _MARE_ ' thing was just a bad pun..." he muttered.  
  
Bunnymund gave a firm snort at that, and would have made a snarky comment of his own, if it hadn't been for Pitch speaking up.  
  
"Ah..."  
  
"Ah?" North inquired. "You have found problem?"  
  
"Fortunately, yes." The Boogeyman replied, frowning as he gave the buck a final lookover. "Good news, I know what disease it is. Bad news, is that Pestilence has mutated the symptoms into a higher fatality." He raised a hairless brow at North. "You were certainly not kidding, when you said you had pissed Pestilence off."  
  
"What is it they have?" Tooth decided to ask.  
  
" _Pulmonis Rutilus._ "(4) The Boogeyman replied, as he finished examining the buck. "Roughly translated, it means 'red lung.' It's a respiratory disease, which as you have already guessed, is very impractical for any creature that has to exert itself as much as Jolly St. Nick's has to."  
  
He wiped his hands off on a rag before banishing it in a swirl of Nightmare sand, "Thankfully, it is still in its infantile stage, but it is progressing rapidly. In a few more days, perhaps a week at best, the reindeer will all be dead."  
  
"What?" Jack exclaimed, the others making equaully worried noises, "You can fix it right?  
  
“Do not insult me Frost, _of course_ I can fix it!" Pitch snapped, taking out a notepad and pen from his bag, "I just need the proper ingredients for medicine. Now, if Bunnymund will make himself useful, perhaps he can go to his garish Warren and bring me the given herbs and plants needed."  
  
Scribbling something down on the pad, he tore it out and held it out to the Pooka, "And don't get stingy, we need any and all good ones you have."  
  
Bunnymund blinked and then scowled. "Who the _bloody hell_ do ya think-"  
  
"Bunny." North interrupted, giving the Easter Bunny a firm look. "Please... Do not argue. Fetch the plants needed, I know you can find them in your Warren."  
  
The Pooka glared at Pitch, and then snorted. "Fine. But I'm only doin' this because yer the one asking me." He set off at once, getting away from the stables before he opened a hole and set off to his warren.  
  
"Is there anything the rest of us can do?" Jack asked.  
  
"As a matter of fact, yes," Pitch said, crossing his arms, "Unless you have prior knowledge to animal treatment, or are the owner of the reindeer, you can stay out of my way."  
  
"Pitch..." North rumbled warningly.  
  
The Boogeyman scoffed, "Fine. If you _must_ help, you lot can start by getting the reindeer fresh water, and clearing out anything that could make the infection worse out of their stables."  
  
"What would that be?" Tooth asked. North responded this time, before Pitch could.  
  
"For one thing, any place that causes drafts. Jack, you can fly and probably use help from wind. See if you can find any cracks or holes, and close them up." The Winter Spirit nodded and set off at once.  
  
"Tooth, you can start with the empty stables that have been cleaned out." North said, pointing in the direction of said stables, "look for anything like nails from their shoes or similar things they could cut themselves on. Use plyers if you have to."  
  
"And Sandy-" North then sighed, as he found that the Dreamweaver had chosen a typical idle moment to fall asleep where he stood. " _Sandy!_ " He said loudly, making the other start awake. "You see about fetching water. Pitch and I will look over rest of reindeer until Bunny gets back."  
  
Pitch rolled his eyes, but nodded, "Indeed. And be careful! I don't need to be taking care of a sick Guardian because you were to careless to exorcise caution."  
  
North gave him a dry look at that. "No more than I want to be taking care of sick Boogeyman."  
  
Pitch scowled, "Don't get cocky North, I may owe Sanderson this favor, but that does not mean I will be lenient. Now then..."  
  
Taking a pair of rubber gloves out of his bag, he slipped them on with a snap and regarded North with a condescending look.  
  
"Do you know _anything_ when it comes to more serious medical treatment for your reindeer?" he asked.  
  
North seemed to freeze at that, before he turned, very slowly, to face the Boogeyman, giving him a dark look.  
  
"I know everything about them," he said in a calm, but dangerously quiet tone. "I have been there for each of them, from when they were in their Dams womb and until they could not even get off the ground for old age. I know every single quirk, whatever makes them tick, what makes them happy or grumpy, when at full health. I do not let them sit idly by in the stables, while I work. They are a crucial part of it, of everything that I am." He drew in a deep, hard breath, before letting it out slowly.  
  
"Pestilence knew how much the reindeer mean to me, both through my work and also personally. That is why he attacked them, instead of me." He raised a large hand, pointing at Pitch as he spoke. "So do not _dare_ insinuate that I do not know how to take care of my reindeer!"(5)  
  
Pitch blinked owlishly, before he slowly placed his hands at his sides and thinned his mouth.  
  
"A simple 'yes' would have sufficed..." he muttered, "So on that note, come along, we have much work to do."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Footnotes for chapter:
> 
> 1- You could say this is a twist on the saying "Kill or be killed". In this case, you either prove you're stronger by killing a stronger opponent (and it's pretty well established that Sandy was killed, because he was considered the most powerful of the Guardians), or you end up either killed yourself, or paying a boon. Since Sandy was brought back, rather than completely killed, we got ourselves a little loophole for the guys to use to their advantage o3o
> 
> 2- Now I can hear someone asking "why wouldn't he just use his snowglobe to transport that kind of supplies?" Let's start from the beginning with this:
> 
> a) The snow globes are for special fast travel only, and certain forms of medicine can't handle being jostled too badly, thus requiring a slower transport.  
> b) The team who goes after this stuff, has either only just headed out for the supplies, or they've been away for a while, thus the three-day period.  
> c) it's always been a personal canon of mine, no matter what universe or fandom, that certain forms of medicine does not react well, when combined with magic. It depends on the nature of the magic, as well as the medicine, and better safe than sorry.
> 
> 3- There'll be more about this in a later chapter
> 
> 4 - By rough translation, he means direct. I'm not good at proper latin grammar myself, so if feel free to correct me and I'll get it fixed.
> 
> 5- There's been a few fics, where North has come across as being only occupied with making toys and ice sculptures, and of course practicing his sword fights, therefore not leaving much room for other things. I decided to go with... let's call it traditional Christmas Canon. The reindeer have always had an important role when it comes to the Santa Claus myth, so I only find it natural that North would be very close to them, especially with all the hard work they have to handle, by pulling the sleigh and who knows how many sacks of toys.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pitch is a hard taskmaster, but there's not much the Guardians can do except do as he tells them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, huge thank you to Sumi_Sprite for helping me out with chapter. But oh GOD the damn chapters are fighting me for some reason, so I apologize sincerely for taking so long with it x_x

The Guardians had, in the many years since they had each been chosen, known that you could always learn something new every day. In this case, they learned something new, yet not completely unexpected about Pitch.

He was a bit of a control freak.

“Frost! I am _NOT_ telling you again! If you bring another draft in here, I swear I’m going to beat you over the head with your own damned staff!” Pitch snapped at the winter sprite. Jack, who was currently crouched on one of the supporting beams under the roof of the stable, put his hands up in surrender with a slightly stunned look.

“I can’t help it! It’s the only way I can find out where there are cracks that need to be patched up-” he started, but apparently, Pitch was not finished, as he grit his teeth before swiftly turning towards Tooth.

“Toothiana, can you _PLEASE_ quit that annoying buzzing? I am trying to concentrate here! You have legs, don’t you?” he snapped.

Tooth gave an affronted look, from where she was currently trying to get a particularly stubborn nail picked from a wooden beam. “I work faster this way!” She exclaimed, which made Pitch scowl. “That is no excuse.” He growled, “If you can’t make yourself more efficient, then get out!”

“Geez, what a frikkin’ grouch.” Jack muttered under his breath, as he worked on closing up one of the drafty cracks he’d found.

North sighed and was about to break in, but paused as Bunnymund returned from the Warren, marching into the stables as he did so while carrying a large basket containing various plants and herbs.

“Well look who decided to join the party,” Pitch sneered as he crossed his arms, while tapping his foot. “You’re late.”

Bunny glared at him, before he put down the basket. “It took a while t’ find some o’ the plants.” He scowled.

“That’s no excuse! You should have been here sooner!” Pitch riffled through the basket, his scowl intensifying, “And what is this? This isn’t nearly enough of what we need for all these reindeer!”

“It’s all I c'n carry on my own, ya bloody galah!” Bunny snapped back impatiently, before he bent over the basket himself, muttering: “Criminy, I’d’ve stayed in my Warren if I knew you’d be whining this much.”

And those were Bunny’s famous last words.

“Whining?” The Boogeyman snapped, as he glared at the Guardian of Hope. “I am NOT whining, I am complaining! Oh but do you want to HEAR whining?” Pitch’s voice suddenly took on a higher tone, almost wailing like a mauled cat, “Thiiiis is whiiiiining!”

The other Guardians cringed, and Bunny almost wished he could tie his ears in a knot, so painful was the sound. Pitch was far from finished however, even though his own Nightmares, who had been doing their own smaller chores, cringed and backed away.

“ _ **HOW** Am I SuPPOseD TO **WORK** IN THesE Con **DI** TIONS if You PEOple CAN’T FOLLOW **JUST ONE ORDER** aND The ELVES KEEP GETTING **UNDERFOOT,** AND IF SOMETHING HAPPENS TO THEIR STUPID SUITS THE WHOLE **WORKSHOP** IS GOING TO BE **CONTAMINATED!**_ ” Pitch practically yowled, and in impressively in one long breath as his voice pitched high and low. “ _THE **REIN** deer WILL **NE** ver GET BETTER IF You DON’T DO **SOMETHING** BETTER AND **HOW** am I supposed to get **ANY** MEDICINE made WHEN THE **RABBIT** CAN’T EVEN USE ANYONE BUT **HIMSELF!**_ ”

Bunnymund was practically ready to pull his own ears off at this point, grinding his teeth furiously. “We get it, we GET it!” He bellowed, “ya weren’t whining before, so stop whining NOW!”

Pitch stopped and crossed his arms with a harsh smirk. “Then how about you get off your furry rear end, and get to work? This hardly covers _half_ of this stable!”

The Pooka didn’t hesitate, but pretty much bolted.

“Pitch…” North growled, his patience feeling very worn thin at this point.

“North.” Pitch responded in a bored tone, while giving North a firm glare.

For a moment, North looked very tempted to just outright punch the other male, his fists clenched tight at his sides. Somehow, he managed to draw in a deep breath and let it out slowly, before he crossed his arms and returned the glare with a hard look of his own.

“We will achieve things better, if we work _with_ each other.” He finally said sternly, “not against.” This earned him only a disdainful snort from the Boogeyman.

“Oh please. I may owe Sandman a boon, but that does not mean that I owe you morons any sort of _nice_  behavior. It’s not my problem if the rabbit can’t take his own medicine.”

“As if you are one to talk.” Tooth muttered darkly, while working on prying out a particularly stubborn nail. She gave the nail a hard glare and an even harder yank, before it finally came out. “I mean, considering how you acted in the Dark Ages…”

“Oh Moon, don’t get him started.” Jack groused from his own spot on the wooden beam, rolling his eyes. “I am so not up for hearing another rant about how _happy_ he was, because everyone else was _miserable_.” Pitch gave him a nasty glare in response.

“Yes, because in the end, it seems at least one person in the world has to be miserable for others to be happy…” he deadpanned, going back to examining the plants Bunny brought.

“Well maybe you wouldn’t be so miserable if you weren’t such a _monster_.” Tooth shot back.

No one would say it, but they were a bit surprised by the involuntary twitch of the Boogeyman’s shoulders. But even more shocking, he said  _nothing_ , and only continued riffling through the herbs and medical plants. The uncomfortable silence weighing on them, the Guardians decided not to press their luck, and they too went back to their tasks at hand.

A few minutes passed in the awkward silence, with the occasional huffing and sneezing from reindeer, and other small shifts in the room from drafts being sealed and nails being pulled. But, it seemed North could not keep to it, nor could he actively ignore what was obviously a cold shoulder.

He turned his head to look slightly over at Pitch, mostly presented with the obviously preoccupied Boogeyman’s back. Maybe it was just North’s overall view, but he couldn’t help but mentally note how thin Pitch was.

He cleared his throat, “Pitch, Toothy did not mean-”

“Let me stop you right there, Nicholas St. North,” Pitch interrupted, not even turning to look at the stunned North, “We both know you agree with her, and quite frankly, I myself am inclined to think myself a monster. So don’t try to make light of it; at this point I’m used to it.”

North frowned, and had the unsightly urge to comment on just who else has called Pitch a monster. Nevertheless, the dark man continued.

“I am at least honest in my disdain for you lot, so don’t even make a sad attempt to be nice to me,” Pitch hissed, “It’s quite sickening actually. Save it for the brats you love so much.”

Jack broke in, “Hey, he’s only trying to-”

“And that’s another thing,” Pitch once more interrupted, “We are not here to make nice, you  _kidnapped me_ and  _blackmailed_ me into helping you _,_ only a short time  _after_ you put me in the ground…”

He suddenly turned on them all, looking for all the world as if he wanted to spit on them.

“You all have  _no right_ to try and play nice with me, let alone the obligation.  _So stop it._ ” he said through clenched teeth.

There was a very deep silence after that, broken only by the pained snorting and coughing from the reindeer and the ruffling of Pitch sorting through the herbs.  North on his part however, finally gave a deep sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“Tooth. Jack.” he said slowly, “if you please. If Bunny needs help with herbs, you should go help him.”

Jack nodded. “You got it, North. Come on Tooth.” He darted down quickly and grabbed Tooth’s hand, and though Tooth looked ready to object, she was dragged off too quickly to do so.

North on his part just grimaced and went over to one of the reindeer, patting it along its neck and murmuring gently to it. Then, he grabbed the pliers that had been left behind by Tooth and went to continue her work.

The silence continued between him and Pitch, even as Sandy finally returned with some water for the animals. While the Dream weaver gave them both a thorough look, as if trying to figure out what had happened, he made no comments and instead waited for North to help him with getting the water poured up, making certain it wasn’t too cold or anything, as that wouldn’t be good for the animals in their current condition. Eventually, North ended up heading to the other stable to check on his animals there (or at least get some sort of update from the elves), while Sandman stayed back to keep an eye on Pitch.

The last thing North saw, as he closed the door to the stables behind him, was the Sandman trying to engage some sort of conversation with Pitch, which the other firmly ignored.

North sighed. He was starting to regret going with this idea.

——

Said regret continued over the following days. Pitch had been bad enough, when they had been fighting him last Easter, and then when he had commandeered them around to their different tasks. However, it was as if the sharp comment from Tooth had hit home in some way, leaving him to prefer working in silence. If anything, North thought, it only made things worse.

The fact that the reindeer were gradually getting worse did not help at all, even after Pitch had worked up the first batch of a concoction from the herbs that had been gathered by Bunnymund and the others. It almost seemed to create a miasma of its own as Pitch cooked it over a small stove in the stables themselves, and when asked about it, he just gave North a look that could have curdled milk.

“Because it is a respiratory disease, it can’t simply be ingested.” He said in a tone that suggested what he thought of North’s intelligence. “It needs to be applied in other ways.” He pointed at the cloud of steam that bubbled up from the black pot it was all being stirred in, “the steam will help loosening up any mucus the reindeer have stuck in their passageways. The more steam, the better. It’s one reason I wanted Frost to get all those holes shut up so there wouldn’t be a draft.”

North nodded as he listened. “But there is more to it?” He asked, “It looks like it, but I make no claims to be an expert.”

“Once it has all boiled up and cooled down, the concoction needs to be applied in certain places.” Pitch responded, and North noted idly that his tone had changed from its bitter one, to a more scholarly, and the Guardian wondered if Pitch had noticed it himself.

“And by this, you mean in some of the more harmed places? You mentioned they had cracked tongues.”

“Yes,” Pitch replied. “It needs to be applied in their mouths, in the roof of it to be exact. It will have about the same effect as getting peanut butter stuck in your mouth. The reindeer will instinctively lick at it; slowly get it in their system that way. With their tongues cracked, it will get it faster in their bloodstream.”

The other nodded again, frowning in thought as he looked towards the sick animals. “It will not be pleasant for them…” He sighed, “But it is more effective, than making them swallow it all and then have them throw it all up again.”

“Any more regurgitation for the moment might not be a good thing.” Pitch responded, as he added a few more herbs to the mixture. “Like the steam, the paste will help loosen up any muck that’s stuck in their lungs or throats, and make it easier for them to breathe.” He huffed in a moment of frustration, though it did not seem to be aimed at North for once. “But… as forcefully advanced as the disease is, I make no promises to how effective the treatment might be. In fact, it’s quite impossible to say at all.”

North looked at Pitch, and was surprised at the Boogeyman’s expression. He looked thoughtful, almost strangely regretful as he looked towards the reindeer. When he noticed North’s gaze however, his expression hardened, and he gave a sharp, defensive: “what?”

“Nothing.” The Guardian responded, “I am just surprised at how you care for the animals. They are not your Nightmares, and yet…”  
  
“Well it’s not the reindeer’s fault, that you’re a bloody idiot with a phobia of diseases.” Pitch stated drily. At North’s expression, he gave a wry smirk, before he snorted in disdain, shaking his head as he turned back to the pot and stirred in it. “I wonder how the others would react, learning that their great leader made an incompetent decision based on his own fears.”

The Guardian of Wonder scowled. “At least my fears are for a good reason.”  
  
“' _A good reason.‘_ ” Pitch echoed mockingly. “You were afraid that leprosy, a disease that has become treatable in these modern times. Which is also the case for most diseases that are related to humans, and even then they shouldn’t affect you in your high and powerful role as a _Guardian_ , unless Pestilence says otherwise.” He raised a hairless eyebrow. “Or perhaps you didn’t know that?”  
  
When North said nothing, Pitch just rolled his eyes. “Well now I know that the Moon didn’t choose you lot for your _intelligence_.”  
  
“No… He did not.” North replied, much to the other’s surprise. “He chose us for different reasons.” He glanced at Pitch at that, a strange, thoughtful look in his eyes. “And for some reason, he chose you as well.”

The Boogeyman froze and blinked, then narrowed his eyes in response.

“I don’t know what you are talking about.”

North was very tempted to poke further at the subject, but the narrow-eyed glare he was getting made him decide otherwise. Instead, he dared to smirk and shrugged.

“He certainly didn’t choose you for your jovial nature.” He then said innocently, to which Pitch responded with a string of rather foul words, that one should not repeat in polite company. Oh North knew, that you shouldn’t always provoke someone whose help you needed like this? But it was so worth it.

\----

The brew was eventually finished, and Pitch basically shanghaied North into helped him with applying the medicine, especially since the Boogeyman could tell that North was very good at handling his animals.

North murmured soothingly to the animals, as he carefully made them raise their feet, or held open their mouths, as Pitch applied the medication, mainly by taking a thick glob of it and then smearing it up in the roof of their mouths. This did not amuse the reindeer for a good reason, and a few of them ended up throwing up more gunk on both North and Pitch, as they worked.

After what felt like hours, they eventually finished, and had to take a moment to catch their breaths, before Pitch then declared that they needed to wash up thoroughly, before heading over to the stables where the pregnant does were. North frowned, but when he thought about it, it only made sense. The pregnant reindeer were at just as much risk as anyone else, and if the medicine could keep them from getting sick, then it was better to be safe, rather than sorry.

Pitch on his part at least seemed pleased about not being questioned. Others were not so hesitant, especially the other Guardians, as North told them what was going to happen, while Pitch was taking his turn at washing up.

“North, are you out of your bloody mind?” Bunnymund scoffed, “For all ya know, he’s gonna use it as an excuse t’ poison the rest o’ yer reindeer! How do ya even know this will work?”

North crossed his arms, giving the Easter Bunny a stern look. “Sandy knew about what he could do. Moreover, he has been using herbs from your Warren. Do you really think doubt their healing qualities?”

Bunnymund literally fluffed up with a very affronted look at that, as if North had just insulted his mother. Or worse, his Easter Holiday to the extreme level. “O’ COURSE not!” He finally exclaimed, “But that don’t mean you shouldn’t be cautious!”

The Guardian of Wonder just gave a tired sigh in return. “Yes yes, I will be careful.” He said, resisting the urge to pet Bunny on the cheek, like he usually did when feeling a bit patronizing. It was impossible to say how the disease might rub off, and the last thing they needed was to get the Pooka sick as well.

“Just be careful, North.” Tooth warned, biting her lower lip in apprehension. “Pitch made it very clear that he is not very fond of this arrangement.”

“I will be, Toothy.” North assured her, “but I do not think it will come to that. You saw it yourself! He has not shown any animosity towards the reindeer. In fact, he has been more patient with them, than I had expected.”

Sandy gave a small smirk at that, and wove a small figure of Dream Sand at that, showing Pitch and then a series of animals. Small heart shapes appeared around Pitch’s head before he petted some of the animals, hugged another, and looked like he offered food to a third. Tooth tilted her head curiously as she watched.

“So you’re saying that he has always liked animals?” She asked, to which Sandman nodded. “Huh… Makes sense, I suppose.”

“Animals can be better company.” North agreed, crossing his arms.

“Doesn’t mean we can trust him.” Bunnymund scoffed. “Mark my words, North… He’s gonna think of some way t’ get back at us, through yer reindeer, one way or another.” He suddenly twitched his ears, then frowned. “Where’s Jack?”

“Outside.” North said, “he went to clear a path for us, so we can get to the stables, and then to see if there is any news of the caravan.”

“Ya sure it’s wise to leave him alone like that?” The Easter Bunny asked with a frown, which got the others to look at him in confusion. “I mean… What about Pestilence? If ‘e gets wind of how we’re trying t’ find a cure… It’s no secret that he and Pitch never got along.”

“Will cross that bridge when we get to it. Besides, Jack is not the type to run with gossip.” North said. He was about to say more, when he saw Pitch come walking, the Boogeyman carrying a satchel that looked ready to burst from the medical equipment he was carrying. North blinked at the sight of it. “What is all of this?” He asked, “I thought you were simply going to clean up.”

“I did,” Pitch said calmly, “and then I remembered that we are going to be looking at pregnant does.” He scowled a bit. “And I also remembered your depleted supplies, and simply thought: why take the chance?” Without another word, he strolled past the Guardians, and towards the doors.

North looked the other three Guardians, and then simply shrugged. “He has a point.” Was all he said, before he went to follow the Boogeyman.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pitch and North check on the pregnant does, and Pitch starts to work on a cure for the animals.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh god I finally got an update x.x RL's been a mess for a long while, so sorry about the lack of updates.

Well _,_ Pitch thought to himself. At least North had been sincere when it came to knowing about his animals.  
  
It would turn out, that the maternity stable had not gone unscathed from Pestilence's attack, much to North's dismay. Thankfully, for whatever reason, the disease was only on its first stages here, which did that neither the doe or the calves that had already been born, were too badly affected. Pitch could easily deduce the 'why', but decided out of spite not to tell North. The Guardian could work it out on his own. Instead, he had simply demanded his medical bag so he could get to work. Pitch got a pair of rubber gloves pulled on, and started out by going to inspect one of the new mothers.   
  
North stepped in before he could get close however, frowning slightly. “Pitch, wait.” He said, earning an annoyed glare from the Boogeyman.  
  
“Do you want me to help or not?” Pitch said irritably, which North grimaced at. “It is not that,” he said, glancing towards his reindeer. “It is simply… Well, we can tell they are not as sick as the others.”  
  
“Anyone with their senses fully operational can _see_ that, North, but there are still signs of the disease.” Pitch retorted, “and I need to determine the stage. So what is your problem?”  
  
"She doesn't _know_ you." North finally said, “and all reindeer can be a bit… wild, when it comes to protecting their young.”  
  
The darker spirit gave North a very dry look at that. "I’m not the type to avenge myself on an animal for following it's instinct, North." He said in an annoyed tone. "Of course she would be protective of her young."  
  
“All the same, I would prefer to go to her first,” the Guardian of Wonder said quietly. “So that she does not become nervous.”   
  
Pitch rolled his eyes, but just waved at North to go ahead. The sooner he could look at the reindeer, the sooner he could figure out what kind of treatment they should receive, possibly even get them cured from the disease, and then he could finally get out of this damn place.  
  
He watched as North now went forward, gently greeting his reindeer and murmuring soothingly to the doe, who while she was a bit sluggish in her movements, was still clear headed enough to shake her head around, snorting slightly. North managed to get hold of her hackamore(1), and began to gently stroke her muzzle, the doe snorting softly into his palm as he did so. North began to make murmuring noises, though Pitch noted that there was some apprehension in his moves, and sensed some sort of nervous tension from the Guardian.  
  
Recalling their discussion back at the other stable, the Boogeyman grimaced in irritation.  
  
“You know, this plague does not affect _humanoids_?” He said, his tone dry and irritable. North blinked, looking at him confused for a moment.   
  
“The disease only affects animals, not humans.” Pitch said again, “there were humanoids around when the disease was first around, but the disease had no effect on them.” He rolled his eyes irritably, “so you can cuddle all you want with your pets, you know. You don't have to worry about getting sick yourself.”  
  
Seeming to finally realize what the other was pointing out, North flushed slightly, both uncomfortable and embarrassed. He made no comment on the others words, but his movements changed from slightly standoff-ish now, to more intimate, as he moved close to the reindeer, rubbing her head gently, as well as her neck.   
  
Finally, he motioned for Pitch to come closer so that the doe could sniff him, or at least make an attempt to. Pitch noted first hand that her nostrils seemed to be clogged up, something he did not like the sight of. He forced himself to take his time however, gently moving in close and letting her get used to his scent, before he got close enough to gently rub her neck. The doe didn't seem to mind, and stood perfectly still afterward, as Pitch began to examine her, much like the same way he had done for the reindeer in the more afflicted stable. When he moved on to examine her calf, the doe only grunted slightly in objection, but once certain that Pitch wasn't doing anything to hurt her baby (even though the calf gave an objecting bleat to being looked in the mouth), she didn't make a move. With North there as an assuring presence, Pitch could work in peace.  
  
They made their way around the stable this way, North taking the time to calm down any of the does and calves that needed it, while Pitch took careful notes, especially when it came to the condition of the still pregnant does. Every time he finished with his examinations, Pitch would get out a fresh, sterile needle that he used to draw a blood sample from the reindeer. He made certain to carefully label the sample afterward, before putting it in a protective holder.  
  
"Not so advanced here, but let's not take any chances." Pitch muttered at one point, stroking the last calf he had examined gently over its head, before he let go and turned to his medical bag. There he put the protective holder in an inner pocket of the bag, before informing North that they were done for now. The reindeer does would be getting the same miasma treatment, which the elves would be keeping an eye on. And woe be to any of them, if they so much as _thought_ about eating the mixture, Pitch threatened before he and North left the stables.  
  
When they returned to the main workshop, the first thing Pitch demanded was a quiet room near the stables where he could work in peace for the next part of his work, so he could be close to the reindeer while working on things. North obliged him, finding him a small storage room that was quickly cleared out, and afterward sterilized for what Pitch needed next.  
  
Pitch began set up something at a corner table, and then rooted through another bag that a Nightmare brought him. At first North thought it looked like some of the chemistry sets that children wished for once in a while. This one looked more advanced however, as it had a few advanced gadgets, that Pitch used for some of the beakers, while also carefully examining drops of the blood samples through a microscope.  
  
When he noticed North was watching him, he gave the Guardian a firm glare. “Do you mind?” He demanded. “This is going to take a lot of concentration.”  
  
“Once you tell me what you are working on, then perhaps.” North said with a frown, crossing his arms. Pitch sighed.  
  
“I am going to see if I can create a vaccine of some kind. It's going to take a lot of concentration and a lot of work, and most of all, _peace and quiet!_ So if you don't mind?” He raised a brow, scowling at North. “Just let me know if anything happens to the reindeer in the meantime. I can't be everywhere at once these days.” With that he made gesture to one of the small Nightmares, that in return kicked the door to the room shut in North's face. North jumped a bit, then frowned at the door, before he retreated with a sigh. There wasn't much he could do right now but wait.  
  
In the meantime, he would keep an eye on the reindeer, and maybe see if there were any news about the caravan that was supposed to bring in the medical supplies.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter notes:
> 
> 1: Hackamore is another name for a kind of bridle. It doesn't have a mouthbit, and can be worn for a long time.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things turn sour, as Bunnymund decides to object against how Pitch works.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As usual, real life has been riding my butt, but now we got ourselves a new chapter. Hope you guys enjoy! Also, huge thanks to Sumi-sprite who helped me out with some of the dialogue in this chapter <3

North groaned as he sat down on the edge of his bed. He couldn't remember the last time it had felt like such a painfully long day, and his belly feelings told him, that things would probably only get worse before they got any better.

When he thought about it, he really should have known better. He'd had an uncomfortable feeling in his gut all day, and his belly had never failed when it came to sensing when something was wrong, even if his fellow Guardians never took it seriously.  
  
\----------  
  
It had all started when the other Guardians had returned from Bunnymund's Warren, having been sent there to retrieve all the herbs that they could each carry for Pitch's concoction. Tooth was practically dragging her bag along the floor, her mini-fairies doing their best to try and help lift it up.

Bunnymund had been carrying the largest sack of all, looking sweaty and exhausted, but also extremely determined, no doubt wanting to prove to Pitch that he damn well knew what he was doing, and if this amount of herbs didn't satisfy the Boogeyman, he was going to regret it.

"Alrigh', where's the skinny drongo, I got his herbs right here!" He snapped, setting his sack down with a loud thump. North could only blink at the sight of the herbs that was almost threatening to spill out of the sack, before he shook himself a bit.

"Uh, yes, I see, good job Bunny!" He said, "and Pitch, uh..." He grimaced. "He is currently... working on something? I suppose?"

The truth on that note had been that Pitch had pretty much barricaded himself within the room he had accepted as his laboratory. The door wasn't locked (no door was locked for North in his own workshop, if he didn't want it to be), but he had no intention of egging on the Boogeyman when the darker spirit demanded peace and concentration for his work.

Bunny scowled. "You _suppose?_ Whaddaya mean by that?"

North grimaced at the Pooka's outburst, while scratching awkwardly at his neck. "What I mean is, he requested a room to himself, that could be used as a laboratory of some kind." He managed, "we went to check on other reindeer and... “ He sighed heavily, lowering his hand. “They are sick as well."

Tooth gasped at that, releasing the bag in shock at that, before covering her mouth. "Oh North..."

"It's not as bad as here!" North said quickly, "but they are very sick, both the does and the calves." He grimaced, crossing his arms in slight frustration as he rocked a bit on his heels. "Pitch examined them, and he took blood samples from them. He said he was going to try and make a vaccine. He has been at it for the past few hours now."

"And you _believed_ him!?" Bunny exclaimed. "North, he's probably sittin' in there trying t' find a way to turn it against ya and make things _worse!_ "

“Bunny, if he had wanted to make it worse, I'm pretty sure he could have done it already.” Jack said, looking skeptical. “I mean, he's been using the herbs for a steam thing, right?”

“Oh _please!_ ” Bunny scoffed, “he's a clever bugger! He knows _his_ plants, and I know _my_ plants. Yeah some of 'em got are good fer medicine, but how do we know they really work against whatever the bloody hell we're up against?” He glared around in challenge, clearly daring the others to speak against him. “Fer all we know, he is lying and using it all as a placebo! An' while we're standin' here, he could have made an even worse virus right this minute!”

Sandy on his part frowned, trying to make signs to demand proof for how Bunny could be so certain in his claims, and scowled a bit when the Pooka in his current fit completely ignored him, and proceeded to head off in the direction of where North had indicated the laboratory room was. North and the others followed, the larger Russian trying to do his to placate the Pooka.

“Bunny, he is doing _nothing!_ Stealthy elves have kept eye on him, and they reported he has done nothing but look through samples and take notes, while doing more work with the herbs!”

The rabbit Guardian gave North a dark look.

“North. With all due respect. Yer elves aren't exactly the sharpest tools in the box. They have their sense of abilities, I will say that!” He added quickly, when he noted that a few elves were giving him some rather miffed glares. “But in these matters, I don't dare trust their opinion. Stealthy or not, he could've known they were there and put up an act.” He scowled as they made it to the door. “An' I'm putting that act to an end!”

Before North could stop him, the Pooka kicked the door so hard, that it hit the nearest wall with a hard slam. Pitch, who had been examining something in a microscope, nearly leaped out of his skin and instantly spun, his hands seeming to reach for something for a moment, before his startled expression turned into an annoyed glower, and he straightened up, crossing his arms in irritation.

“You know, rabbit, there's a thing called _knocking._ You might want to try that?” He said drily. North frowned, taking note of how the other was looking incredibly tired, and he found himself wondering if Pitch had taken a break even once. Glancing at a nearby clock, the Russian frowned even more when he realized just how long it had been, since he and Pitch had returned from the maternity stables

Bunny on his part gave a sharp, dry laugh. "Oh ho, that's rich comin' from you! While we are out slavin' away t' get a bunch of herbs gathered, you're mosin' around in here, gettin' ready to do who knows what to the reindeer!"

Pitch just stared at the Pooka, as if he was trying to figure out just what exactly the other was trying to say, before he rolled his eyes in annoyance.

"Yes Bunnymund, you caught me red-handed." He finally said drily. "I'm totally planning to cause more harm than good. _Well done_. I haven't been spending several hours trying to work on figuring out a vaccine for the reindeer." He then sighed. "You must think you are being so amusing, considering how you are the ones wasting my time." He grimaced, rubbing at his own forehead. "For someone being so desperate for my help, you certainly enjoy making certain I get nothing done!"

"Don't get smart with me, Boogeyman!" Bunny snarled, jabbing the other sharply in the chest with a finger. "If anyone is wastin' time, it's _you!_ You whinge constantly over how the rest of us are not doin' a good enough job, but I don't exactly see _you_ makin' any progress!"

Pitch was glaring hard in return, his eyes narrowed as he listened to Bunny's tirade. North on his part wanted to break in, but felt as if he couldn't say a word. Sandy frowned, tapping his foot impatiently before he flashed a golden arrow at Pitch, then pointed over himself, bringing forth the I.O.U symbols, but both he and Bunnymund froze when the Boogeyman now gave them all a thunderous expression.

"Do you honestly take _enjoyment_ out of this?" He snarled at the Sandman. "Do you actually _ENJOY_ watching me fight every instinct that tells me how I ought to put your heads through a wall, since that might be the only thing that will give me a moments peace and quiet from you insulting me behind my back? Well I don't! You all are _impossible!_ " At that, he pointed back at the various equipment and some of the bubbling brews. "I'm at least trying to make an effort to help the reindeer and get this stupid favor over with as quickly and as painlessly as possible. But _NOOOO_ , you just cannot even _PRETEND_ to be civil can you? You're all too busy bitching and moaning about possible conspiracy theories about me, and heaven forbid you actually put in some goddamn _effort_ on your part!" He scowled at that, shaking his head angrily. "Guardians of children my arse, you all are no better than _schoolyard bullies._ "

Bunnymund had been shocked into silence, but only for about five seconds, before his face darkened.

"That's real funny, coming from you." He snarled, "considering how we at least give an actual damn about protectin' children! But all YOU can do is go around and scare them, like all monsters would in the real ol' days!” He snorted, crossing his arms at that. “North may be goin' easy on you, but don't forget yer here to actually be of use for once!”

Pitch's eyes narrowed. For a moment, it was as if you could only hear the buzzing of Tooth's wings, and a harsh, heavy breathing sound coming from Pitch, the Boogeyman standing completely still, his hands clenched so tight at his sides that his knuckles were a pale white.

" _'Of use...'_ " The darker spirit finally said slowly, his voice low and hard. "Of. Use. Last time I checked, I was not the one who decided to enrage the Spirit of Pestilence, and then proceed to _kidnap_ someone into _unwilling servitude!_ " He seemed to consider something for a moment, then shook his head for a moment, before he turned away, snapping his fingers. A couple of Nightmares carrying bags appeared, and simply waited as Pitch, much to the shock of the Guardians, began to pack his things.

“Wh- what are you doing?” Tooth stuttered, surprised at the others actions, though she went silent when Pitch just gave her a tired glare.

“What does it look like? I'm going home!” He said, looking and sounding too tired to want to deal with her, or the others any more.

“Are you _serious!?_ ” Jack exclaimed. “Come on, Pitch, you know Bunny didn't mean-”

“Save it, Frost!” Pitch bit at the Winter Spirit. "You damn well know he meant every word of it.” He underlined his sentence by slamming a box he had just packed shut, before he put it down in one of the waiting Nightmare's saddlebags.  
  
“I am well aware that I am a monster, and a terrible person.” Pitch muttered bitterly as he worked. “I bloody _get it!_ But it doesn't mean I like hearing it on a daily basis, especially from _you_ lot.”

North felt strangely numb. He reckoned it was partially from the shock of all that was happening, but also from what Pitch was saying. Or rather, the way he had been saying it. He remembered a long time ago how the Man in the Moon had wanted Pitch to become a Guardian. But under Manny's terms, not Pitch's… When Pitch had rejected the position, North recalled how Bunny had simply scoffed then as well.

 _'To actually be of use for once.'_ What a strange way of phrasing it. And the way Pitch reacted to it... As if not just Bunny, but many other spirits had used that phrase before, and Pitch had just gotten used to it.

 _'Maybe if you weren't such a monster!'_ Tooth's words echoed in his thoughts. And again, remembering how Pitch had reacted. Not with anger, or the fury he had shown that last Easter. Now it was with a deep weariness, from years of being shunned…

North fumed at sudden, before he turned to look at his fellow Guardians.

“Get out.” He said, and felt strangely surprised at how sharp his own voice sounded. Everyone stopped in their tracks, even the Nightmares perking up in curious interest, while Pitch paused for a moment, before he continued packing his things.

“North?” Tooth began. “What are you-”

“I said, **_get out!_** ” North barked. “North Pole is about hospitality! Is about feeling welcome and safe! It is sanctuary, is it not!?”

Bunny twitched his ears with a confused grimace. “Well o' course it is. What're you-?” He suddenly froze when he found North pointing right at his nose, the large Russian glaring hard at him with his sharp, blue eyes.

“You, Bunny, have made your points clear. You do not like Pitch Black. Then you will not be where Pitch _is_. Until I say otherwise, you may keep bringing herbs for medicine, but otherwise you are to leave the North Pole!” While Bunnymund could only stare bewildered, North turned his attention to Tooth.

“Tooth. You have your own work to do. Go tend to your fairies and teeth.” He said, his tone a bit more gentle with her. “Jack. You should do the same. You still need to care for your believers.”

“But North...” Jack started, but North shook his head firmly.

“No, Jack. If I need your help, I will ask for it. Same goes for you, Sandman.”

Sandy frowned at that, a flurry of sand symbols appearing in objection, but North only met his gaze with a hard stare of his own.

“There can be no peace in a sanctuary, Sandy, so long as someone might provoke something. And you have your own work to do.” Sandy returned North's stare for what seemed like a long time, before he finally puffed a gold cloud in frustration and then nodded in a 'very well' kind of gesture.

“You can't be serious, North!” Bunny exclaimed only to be silenced by another look from North. In the background, Pitch had paused fully in his own packing and was watching with a bemused expression, as the Guardian of Wonder was pretty much kicking out the others from his workshop.

Eventually, Bunny angrily stomped a tunnel into existence before disappearing into it, while Jack and Tooth soon flew off. Sandy stayed for a bit, warning North to not hesitate to ask for any help should he need it, before he finally allowed the Russian to usher him out.

“What in the world are you doing!?” Pitch finally demanded to know, sounding like he had no idea how he was supposed to react. Which, North thought, was probably the case. “If you think throwing out the other Guardians is going to make me change my mind-”

“We brought you here for the sake of reindeer.” North cut in. “This is about them. Not about former feuds or grudges. The others have their reasons to distrust you, but I?” He huffed. “I mean what I said. The North Pole is meant to be a place where one is welcome. And they need to remember that it is I who is in charge of it, not them.”

He turned towards Pitch, frowning. “I will not keep you from leaving,” he added, “you've had to endure more than enough insults and harmful words. But the reindeer… they need you.” North breathed in hard for a moment, clenching a fist at his mouth, and Pitch could have sworn for a moment that the larger man was ready to burst into tears. The Russian managed to compose himself however, before he spoke again, though his words came out strangled.

“If you must take your anger out on someone, then let _me_ be the target. The reindeer have suffered enough.”

Pitch stood silent, looking at North with a guarded expression. For a long moment, you could only hear the background rummaging of the yeti and elves bustling about the workshop. The Boogeyman frowned, scrutinizing North very carefully, before he finally seemed to come to a decision.

“One more.” He said, pointing firmly at North. “You get _one more chance_ , Nicholas St. North. But if any of the others, be it the rabbit, the bird, the frost boy or that insufferable sandbag, make so much as a _peep_ against me and the hard work I'm trying to do, then I will not stay for another _second!_ ”

North managed not to let the relief show on his face. Instead, he nodded, not daring to speak out of turn as he watched Pitch begin to unpack the saddlebags.

“But now, I need to focus my work on the vaccine.” He gave North a sharp look at that. “Which also means keeping your elves out. I don't need them falling down on the equipment or my work notes, understand?”

“Of course.” North said quietly. “I only have one condition with this.” When he got a sharp glare, he raised his hands quickly in defense. “Nothing too severe! But I would like to assist if needed. As in, if you find yourself in need of help with your work, please do not hesitate to ask.”

“Why would I want to do that?” Pitch asked, looking at North suspiciously.

“It is not fair to demand of you to do all the work by yourself. And it is not just because your patients happen to be my reindeer.” North sighed. “It is an enormous task, and it has been unfair to demand that you handle it alone, which you basically have been doing so from the start.” He crossed his arms over his chest, grimacing in frustration. “Is mostly my own fault. I let the suspicion and old grudges of the others get in the way, trying to appease almost everyone, when I should have focused on what is really important, which is getting the reindeer well again.”

Pitch was looking at him with a frown, looking as though he couldn't decide what the appropriate response would be. “You do know that losing your reindeer would be a severe blow.” He said slowly, “and Pestilence knew that too, thus his attack on them. I might even decide to ignore the boon, should things turn south, and the reindeer perish.”

“Bah...” North scowled. “I could handle it… I think.” He sighed. “But the reindeer do not deserve it. They are not responsible for my foolish decisions, choices or mistakes. And neither are you for that matter,” he added to Pitch, who gave him a weird look at that. “I will leave you to your work. But remember, please do not hesitate to call for help should you need it.”

The other frowned, more thoughtfully now, as North began to walk away. “I will keep it in mind.” Was all he said, before he returned to his own unpacking.  
\-----------------------------------------------------

By now, it had been some hours since that conversation, and North sighed tiredly as he climbed into bed. He felt exhausted, mentally and physically, as though he had been running a marathon. For a moment, he wondered if the reindeer had become so sick that it was beginning to affect his Belief… but he quickly dismissed that idea. It felt nothing like it had last year when Pitch…

No, he did not need a reminder of Bunny's severe paranoia. Pitch was not strong enough to cause trouble, and even if he had been, he was far too occupied by the reindeer. Last North had seen him when briefly checking on him, Pitch had been on his way to the maternity stables, to check on the herbal concoction there. North had left him be, deciding it wouldn't do any harm. Besides, if he wanted the other to trust his word on how he would let him work how he wanted, he needed to allow Pitch some space. And honestly, he felt like he might sleep for days…

“North!”

“ _North!!_ ”

“ _ **Nicholas!!**_ ”

North was jarred awake by the very painful sensation of getting yanked in his beard, which he quickly found was caused by a rather frazzled looking Pitch Black.

“Whuh-? Whut're you doing in my room?” He managed to ask, grimacing as he ran a hand across his beard to make certain Pitch hadn't yanked out a chunk of hair or something. Pitch snorted irritably, shoving at the larger man.

“Why did you not tell me how far long your does were!?” He snapped. “Specifically one of the first ones, the one with the battle name!”

North squinted, trying to get himself awake enough to figure out what Pitch was talking about. “You mean Hildur?” He managed. “She shouldn't be due for another month...” And then the meaning of Pitch's question hit him like a bucket of cold water. “Unless you mean-!?”

“Exactly!” Pitch hissed furiously. “Get your jolly ass out of bed, North! She's in labor!”


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> North and Pitch join up for teamwork, as one of the reindeer give birth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all, thank you to anyone who left me a kind word on the filler page, when I vented my frustrations (I couldn't get myself to delete the filler chapter, as I wanted to preserve said comments). I really appreciate your support, and I really hope that you will enjoy this chapter. Also, once again, a huge thank you to Sumi-Sprite, who has helped me a ton with figuring out some ideas so I could get this chapter filled out. Hopefully, any coming chapters won't be as difficult to write, but I make no promises. Right now, my mom and I are... well, inbetween places? We've almost sold our house, and we're in progress of buying an apartment that we're gonna start moving to, come february. So there's a lot to do on that front. And starting from tomorrow, and for four weeks (Nov. 14 to december 11) , I'll be at an intern job working 9 to 5, which is going to keep me very busy. I have no idea if I'll have energy to be creative in that time XP But we'll see. For now, thank you again for your support, and I hope you will all enjoy this chapter.

It didn't take long for North to get into some clothes and then hurry off to the stables. He almost called for some of his yeti to help prepare, but then snarled to himself when he realized he couldn't ask for their assistance, because of the quarantine. Fear of diseases or not, he wanted to _strangle_ Pestilence.  
  
Swearing all the nastiest words in Russian he could think of that did not involve Russian composers, he soon made his way to the stables. Pitch had run ahead, and North hoped that his reindeer would allow the dark spirit close to them, especially as they would need all the help they could get in their current weakened condition.  
  
Which was probably the only reason he didn't immediately threaten bodily harm on Pitch, when the first thing he saw as he entered the stables and got to the right box, was Pitch standing with his arm almost fully submerged in poor Hildur’s backside. All he could manage were a few furious splutters, earning him an annoyed look from Pitch.

  
“About bloody time, North!” The dark spirit growled. “Get over here! There's boiled water to wash your hands in, so _hurry up!_ She's already dilated!”  
  
“How can you be certain?” North snapped in return, as he hurriedly washed his hands and arms in the basin of nearly scalding hot water that Pitch had gotten ready, then grimaced as his harsh tone made Hildur bray in discomfort and some of the other reindeer stir uneasily. Pitch shushed Hildur gently, while he glared at North.  
  
“We don’t have time for a detailed discussion about it!” He hissed in a low voice. “Doesn't matter anyway; Right now, she needs all the help she can get!” He scowled at that. “You told me that you have helped your reindeer before, or are you just as bloody useless at that as you are at everything else?”  
  
North glared hard at Pitch, but only went over to move next to him. “What do you need me to do?” He said, his voice somehow coming out more calm than he felt.  
  
“Her fawn is turned around,” Pitch replied, frowning. “I need to reach in and get a hold of it. I want you to stick two fingers down below where my arm is, and _gently_ but _firmly_ pull down until I can pull the legs out!”  
  
At any other point, North would have argued that he should be the one doing that particular job, of pulling the fawn free. Such a task required a lot of strength, which North had plenty of, and Pitch… well, to be honest, his skinny figure did not make you think he was that powerful, especially with his lack of belief. The determined and concentrated look on his face however, was enough to make North stand and just gently stroke Hildur's side with his free hand, while he did as he had been instructed.  
  
Pitch frowned in concentration, as he now had room to reach in with his other arm. Hildur brayed in dismay, the poor reindeer clearly wanting nothing more than to lay down, but North kept talking to her and calming her, encouraging her to stay on her feet while Pitch worked on his part.  
  
“There, I've got hold of the legs.” Pitch said at sudden, frowning. “I wish I had a rope for this, but there wasn't time to find one...”(1)  
  
“Try to see if you can work with her contractions.” North suggested, “and then hold on as tight as you can. Move slowly however, so you do not lose your grip, or hurt her in the process.”  
  
Pitch glanced at him, then gave a single nod before seeming to brace himself. It seemed to take forever, but they slowly made progress despite Hildur getting more tired and the fawn taking its time to be pulled free. North watched as Pitch would seem to make a pulling motion, but doing so only a little at a time, no doubt so neither calf, nor mother would get injured.  
  
“I'm going to try and pull it out completely now.” Pitch said, “we've spent too much time on this, and the mother is getting exhausted. If we don't do it now, we might lose the fawn!”  
  
“I understand.” North replied with a nod, “do your best. I will hold Hildur as still as I can.” The dark spirit nodded, and waited until North had released his own grip and had carefully moved up to Hildur’s head, and got a hold on her hackamore and braced himself.  
  
“On three, then.” Pitch said, once he was certain North was ready. “One. Two...” And then he moved backwards quickly, pulling away from Hildur and bringing along a small, four-legged form, along with a birthing sack and a lot of amniotic fluid landing on the floor with a _splat._ The fawn was caught quickly and laid down on some clean straws, before Pitch quickly knelt down and looked it over quickly.  
  
“It's not breathing.” He muttered, and began to work on cleaning away the fluids. North frowned, keeping a hold of Hildur so she wouldn't disturb Pitch, even though the new mother wanted nothing more than to go to her baby. Pitch kept going however, using a clean straw to gently tickle the fawns nose or ears. “Come on, little one, breathe for me.” He muttered quietly. When that gave no reaction, he leaned down and began to carefully give it artificial respiration.  
  
It felt like the minutes dragged by, when it might have only been seconds, before the fawn suddenly fumed and sneezed, and then began to move, flailing its young, gangly limbs as it instinctively tried to get up. North let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding, while Pitch gently got the fawn up on its feet. It staggered a little, before it moved over towards its mother, and North released Hildur and stepped back to lean against the side of the stable box, allowing her to move over and begin to nuzzle and lick her baby.   
  
“There we go...” Pitch sighed, smiling with a tired, but satisfied look. “Now… that wasn't so hard, was it?” He blinked when he heard the sound of a loud _thump._   
  
North on his part had sat down heavily, his face hidden by his hands. When Pitch looked closer, he saw the others shoulders were trembling slightly.  
  
“North..?” Pitch swallowed, feeling what could only be described as waves of emotion coming from the large Russian. A strong mix of fear, joy and relief could be felt, the latter being the most powerful, though the fear had been rather strong too. In fact, when Pitch thought about it, it had been in a consistent wave ever since North had arrived at the stables. (For not to mention at the Pole itself, since Pitch's arrival.)  
  
He then recalled how the man had been asleep when he'd come to get him. To be woken up to a shock like that, and then go through such a massive adrenaline rush that came with working with a birth, not to mention using his energy to try and keep the birthing reindeer calm so no one would get hurt… well, a Guardian he may be, but North was also still a man. And he was right now dealing with a massive combined emotional and adrenaline crash.  
  
“Uhm...” was all Pitch could think of saying, “just… wait here a moment? I'll be back shortly.”  
  
The fawn still needed a bit of aid. It showed all signs of being weak from its early birth and would need help with its first meal. It was something to distract himself with, Pitch decided, at least until he could figure out what to do with North.  
  
It turned out not to be something he had to deal too much with, however. When Pitch returned to the stable with what he needed, the Guardian of Wonder was mostly in the same position he'd been left in. But now, he was sitting up against the wall and his eyes closed, while Hildur had laid down next to him with her head resting in his lap, his arm draped gently over her neck and one of North's hands resting on her muzzle. He had fallen asleep.  
  
Pitch watched them for a moment, before he decided it at least kept North out of his way while he worked, and set to prepare some milk formula for the fawn.  
\-----------------------------------------------  
  
North woke up, blinking slowly in confusion for a moment. He could have sworn he had been in bed a moment ago. Why would he suddenly be in the stables…?  
  
Then he remembered. Pitch waking him roughly, Hildur being in labor, and the long, hard birth. He briefly recalled having sat down for a moment, with Hildur lying down next to him to rest a bit herself, and then…  
  
“You fell asleep about an hour ago.” Pitch's voice sounded, and when North looked, he found the Boogeyman was sitting right next to him. The little fawn was being fed from a bottle, while Hildur stood nearby, munching on something in her trough.   
  
“The mother is fine.” Pitch said, as he gently stroked the fawns neck, while it suckled eagerly. “Understandably exhausted, but there's no physical damage and she hasn't been too overworked despite the disease. And the fawn is a healthy boy. He'll be a little weak on his feet, because he was born early, but I think he'll make it.”   
  
North nodded, watching Pitch and the little fawn. The Boogeyman had taken off his robe and had draped it over the fawn. It was almost odd to see Pitch like this, looking like he had completely let his guard down when it came to taking care of the newborn. One could have expected him to be in a severe dark mood, as he was in one of the stables where he was forced to work against his will, but instead he seemed to be completely at peace. And while he showed clear signs of being exhausted himself, with slight shadows under his eyes and a clear fatigue in his posture, he was far too focused on the infant reindeer right now.  
  
There was just something about that, which warmed something in North, and he wasn't certain if it was sheer gratitude for what Pitch had done, or something else entirely. Right now, however, he wouldn't have minded finding some way to preserve this peaceful moment that didn't involve a simple photograph or painting. It was just him and Pitch, the newborn reindeer and Hildur quietly munching away at her feed.  
  
“How did you know what to do?” North asked at sudden. When Pitch raised a questioning eyebrow at him, he gave an clearing of his throat. “I mean… you seemed to know what to do right away, with knowing the signs, and the rope...”  
  
Pitch frowned for a moment, but when he realized North was genuinely curious and not just being polite, he looked strangely flustered and looked away.  
  
“… Not all of my Nightmares were made from Sandersons dreams.” He finally said after a moment. “Some of them were, for lack of a better word, made in the natural way.” He was thoughtful for a moment, before adding: “It made some of them more loyal in that way. While others… became more _feral_ , so to speak. It's difficult to explain. The more Nightmare they were, the more horrifying they were as well. While the closer they were to originally being a Dream, the more difficult they were to control.”  
  
North felt his eyebrows lift high in surprise, as he thought of something. “The Nightmares at the lake in Burgess…?” He asked carefully.  
  
“Were a bit of both. Born Nightmares and still turned dreams.” Pitch replied, grimacing. “The born Nightmares did theirs to protect me, while the others were more feral due to sudden starvation.” He huffed, and North had the feeling that if he hadn't been focused on the fawn, he would have glared at North.  
  
“Anyway…” Pitch then sighed, “with the naturally born Nightmares, among others, I've learned through trial and sadly, error, how to handle something like births. It's hard, and if something goes wrong, it's devastating. But when it goes well… it can be the greatest reward.”  
  
“You know a lot about taking care of animals, it seems.” North said. Pitch just gave a half-hearted shrug.  
  
“Animals are more accepting than people. Or spirits, for that matter.”  
  
The Guardian of Wonder frowned in thought at that last sentence. Pitch had either not noticed, or didn’t care, but he had sounded strangely… defeated. Like it had become a fact of life, that he was only too used to. Which, North realized with a mental wince, was quite possibly the case.  
  
Because of who Pitch was, and how he generally acted hostile and stand-offish (at least in North’s experience, and according to a few others), whatever social circle he might have had, had to have severely diminished over the years. Because if spirits were good at one thing, it was holding a grudge…(2)  
  
But animals, even spirit influenced ones (3), they always forgave. They didn’t care _who_ you were, or what you had done, so long as you provided them with food, companionship and sometimes with love. Even someone like Pitch could be loved by them, especially when he went as far as to learn how to care for them medically. Which couldn’t just have been a spontaneous decision, North thought as he watched Pitch gently fuss over the fawn. Not with how long he had been at it, with his form for veterinary knowledge.  
  
Once upon a time, Pitch had perhaps been of a kinder nature himself, but time and constant hostility from his surroundings had forged a hard shell around the Dark spirit’s heart. And the rejection from the Man in the Moon had quite possibly served as that final nail in the metaphorical coffin, that had made Pitch decide he was better off on his own.  
  
The only exception that North knew of, had been around the Easter Battle. Jack had told North and the others, of how Pitch had spoken to him in the Antarctic. A conversation, no matter how heartfelt it might have sounded, that had been written off as another of the Boogeyman’s wicked tricks, especially by both Tooth and Bunny.  
  
Just like they had written him off, back when the Man in the Moon had wanted Pitch to join them, North thought to himself.  
  
Pitch startled when he felt a hand on his shoulder, and turned his head to give North a wary stare. His expression alone, closed off in some way, but also alarmed, told North how the other expected nothing but hostility, or pain in one form or another. Better to guard oneself against it now, than regret it later, North thought sadly.  
  
“I’m sorry.” The Guardian of Wonder said quietly, watching as the guarded look changed into a surprised expression, then puzzled and then quickly suspicious.  
  
“For what…?” Pitch asked slowly, which North found that he was… unable to answer at once.  
  
What could he truly apologize for? Not offering Pitch true friendship, when he’d had the chance? For not listening, when the darker spirit had offered his own ideas for how to guide the children? Or for how his fellow guardians insulted Pitch, not just behind his back but directly to his face? Or finally, for dragging him to the workshop against his will, and then basically having Sandy blackmail him into helping the reindeer?  
  
Everything, up to and including the Easter Battle?   
  
“I-- I am sorry for… passing out?” North finally said, and rather lamely at that. Pitch did a slight double-take at first, before he snorted in what sounded like genuine amusement.   
  
“It doesn’t matter,” he said with a slight chuckle, looking slightly puzzled to himself as if he hadn’t expected himself to make that sound. “At least you waited until the fawn was properly delivered.”  
  
North chortled at that, before he pulled his hand away from Pitch’s shoulder, and rested it back in his own lap. “That is very true.” He agreed, before he smiled gently as he looked at the fawn, albeit with a worried expression.   
  
“The disease… does it affect the little ones, do you think?” He asked slowly. Pitch frowned at the question, but didn’t look at North as he gently rubbed the fawns ears, as it lay snuggled up in his lap.   
  
“I can’t say for certain,” he said sincerely. “But he is very weak, and will need to be watched closely over the next few days. When was Hildur originally supposed to give birth?”  
  
North sighed and shrugged, “Not until around mid march. Most of the reindeer give birth around may or maybe early June, but some of them had… early season urges.”(4) He frowned, not knowing how else to explain it, without adding salt to the wound about how the return of a spiked belief from last year had made his reindeer extra randy. Pitch thankfully seemed to understand what North meant without taking offense however, and just shrugged it off, frowning as he watched the fawn climb to its feet, shake itself (dropping Pitch’s robe to the floor as it did so) and stumble over to his mother to nurse.  
  
“It’s still too early to tell,” he said. “We’ll just have to keep an extra eye on them both, and any other reindeer who might decide that now is the ideal time to give birth.” The Boogeyman grimaced at that. “We’re going to have some long nights ahead of us, especially since I still have to work on the vaccine.”  
  
“Then we will have to prepare ourselves.” North said, crossing his arms. “I watch over reindeer, while you work on the vaccine. Yeti caravan should be here any day now, with the rest of the supplies.” He frowned in thought at that, looking at Pitch. “Do you think any of it would be of use for the vaccine?”  
  
“I would have to look thoroughly through them, but right now, I’ll have to say no.” Pitch said with a frown. “If any modern medication could be of use against this disease, then it would have been invented a long time ago. But since the disease is technically extinct...”  
  
North just nodded with a sigh. He had expected Pitch to say those words, but if one didn’t hope just a little…   
  
“Still,” he said slowly. “I thank you, for all the effort you have worked with when it comes to the reindeer. Even if not all of them make it, I appreciate it.”  
  
Pitch gave him a strange look at that, before frowning, as if he was surprised by the others words. Instead of responding, however, he muttered something under his breath about checking the rest of the reindeer that North didn’t quite catch, and finally climbed to his feet, brushing some hay off of his leggings before he bent down to pick up his robes.   
  
If he noticed North’s gaze lingering slightly on his legs and his bare back when he straightened back up, he didn’t say anything as he shrugged his robe back on, and hurried off to continue his work.  
  
North looked after him for another few moments, before he got to his feet as well, groaning as his body reminded him that he had been sitting in nearly the same position for what had possibly been a few hours. With a pained stretch, followed by several movements to warm up his stiff muscles, North followed Pitch to see what other work there was that needed to be done.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1 - The closest I could find for research on this, was basically a WikiHow article on How to Help a Cow Give Birth. Part 5 of this reads "f the calf is in normal position or in a position where you can pull from, put a set of calving chains or a rope (not twine, as twine is often too thin and too sharp to be used on a calf) on the front legs of the calf."
> 
> 2 - See also: Greek Pantheon, Queen Titania and King Oberon of the Fae, Pitch Black and of course one E. Aster Bunnymund and Easter Sunday of 1968 =P
> 
> 3 - There are a lot of animals in mythology or fantasy fiction, that sometimes get influenced by spirits or gods. The White Stag of Celtic and Hungarian mythology, a LOT of animals symbolizing Death (Black hound, church lamb, black swine, Hel horse to name a few) and so on. I figure some of these, depending on their influence from spirits/gods have either mostly animal intelligence, or close to human intelligence.
> 
> 4 - The mating season for reindeer is usually in late September to early November, with calves being born in May or June. But with North keeping his reindeer in a safe and warm environment (lots of food, good caring, no predators), I figure some of the breeding can happen at different parts of the year.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TW: ANIMAL DEATH in this chapter, and possibly in future chapters, so you are warned.
> 
> Tragedy strikes, and Pitch gets more work as a result

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Could it be? Is it possible? AN UPDATE? HOLY CRAP!
> 
> Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I finally regained some inspiration. I chalk it up to having gotten into some different activities that should help me with my jobsearch. I only just got started, so we'll see how it goes. I'm slowly working my way through a list and trying to remember where I wanted to go with some of my stories (stress has a way of affecting your memory in a bad way.)
> 
> I make no promises of this becoming a more regular thing. So if you only got comments that try to guilt me into updating, kindly go somewhere else. Because those won't get you anywhere (and yes, I've gotten comments like that on one of my other fics. Not. Cool.)
> 
> Aside from that, thank you to anyone who has supported and helped me out with ideas for my different fics.

Nothing was ever easy. Pitch knew this from bitter experience, especially when it came to anything emotional. Caring was dangerous. Caring meant getting attached and emotionally invested. Caring meant getting hurt.

Animals were at least easy. Animals made no demands, other than being fed or cared for in some way. But of course, that didn't mean you couldn't get hurt then either. Because as blissful as the companionship of an animal could be, it was also so painfully brief… and it was so much worse when they were sick, and the inevitable happened, after your beloved companion had suffered…

They learned about the reindeer a few hours after the birth of the calf.

Things had been quiet, ( _too_ quiet Pitch thought later) and everything with the mother had been fine. She had been tired, but had suffered no harm from the birth despite the rough start for her baby. And the calf could by now stand on its own and drink from its mother without any trouble. North had kept an eye on them both, while Pitch went around to keep an eye on the other pregnant reindeer, and make certain there were no other incoming births.

And then, there had been a sharp jingling. It had seemed so jarring and out of place, that Pitch found himself flinching, before looking around to find the source. It was along the floor, he found, and it was in the form of a hazmat clad elf that had come from… somewhere? North had gotten up from his seat, frowning at the elf that had been running around in what seemed like a panic.

“Must have overlooked the elf tunnels between this stable and the main one.” North muttered to himself irritably, but Pitch could hardly blame him for the tone. In fact, it could very well be the source of the infection for the maternity stable when you thought about it. The elf didn’t seem to care right now, instead it began gibbering to North while jangling madly with its bell. North frowned as he listened, and while Pitch wanted nothing more than to give the elf a firm boot to the head to silence it, something in North’s expression made him hesitate. The large man had gone pale, his eyes wide in horrified realization.

“Something has happened in the main stable!” He exclaimed to Pitch, “Bingle says reindeer have fallen!”

“Fallen?” Pitch frowned, but didn’t hesitate to gather his medical equipment, while North quickly grabbed his coat. The newly born calf and a few of the other young ones bleated in distress at the sudden activity, but was quickly soothed when North began to speak to them in a gentle tone.

“Shoosh shoosh, it is alright.” He murmured gently, “you stay here with your mamas, Pitch and I will come back. For now we have to check on your older brothers and sisters.”

When he was certain the reindeer were soothed, North quickly shrugged on his coat and went for the doors, Pitch following suit. The elf had disappeared, possibly through the tunnel to alert its fellow elves of North and Pitch’s arrival.

Outside, the wind was blowing roughly, whirling around snow to the point where it seemed blinding. North shut the doors to the stables behind them, and grabbed Pitch around his wrist. At any other point, Pitch would have bristled at the sudden touch, but decided not to. The reindeer took priority, and North knew the way better in this weather that felt like the beginning of a snow storm. So Pitch followed the best he could as North lead the way, trying not to think about North felt almost burning hot to the touch.  
\------------------

They found the doors to the main stables within 20 minutes, a span of time that felt too long. They had just gotten inside, when North was suddenly swarmed by distressed, hazmat-clad elves and while Pitch wanted nothing more than to kick them out of the way, he knew it wasn’t the time as North quickly silenced them with a shout in Russian, before pointing to three of the elves.

"Show me!" He said, and followed them as they set off. Pitch followed quickly, keeping the medical kit with him.

They found the two reindeer having collapsed in their boxes, so weakened that they couldn't handle standing anymore. One was lying on its side, its tongue hanging out of its mouth as it heaved for breath. The other had gotten its hackamore caught on a hook for the trough and was lying ominously still. The elves looked like they had tried to move it, but had been unable to.

North made a strangled sound in his throat before he hurried over to the caught reindeer. His massive hands shook as he carefully touched the animal’s head, giving a quiet sob before he grabbed hold of the hackamore and lifted it free. Then he gently laid the reindeer down, caressing its neck. Even without looking too close, as North went over to the next reindeer, Pitch could tell it was too late for either of the animals. The first had possibly been suffocated by its own tongue, while the other… even if he'd had a workable vaccine on hand, it was too late.

 _"I have been there for each of them, from when they were in their Dams womb and until they could not even get off the ground for old age."_ Pitch recalled North saying. At the time he had dismissed the sincerity of it, too irritated at the time with his own wounded pride to believe that the figure of Santa Claus could care this much about his animals. But after the birth of the calf and now how North was reacting to two of the grown reindeer dead or dying… it made something in him ache with sympathy, especially with what had to be done now…

"North?" He started, then paused. What could he even say to this? Pitch steeled himself, then tried again. "Nicholas?"

North looked up, and Pitch felt as though his words froze in his throat at the larger mans expression. North was crying, a stream of tears rolling over his cheeks, his eyes seeming glassy and as if they were looking through Pitch instead of directly at him.

"Pitch…" North finally spoke, his voice raw with grief. "I have nothing to help them with… and they are hurting so much..." his voice cracked, and Pitch felt his own throat close up at the Guardians sheer devastation.

"I… have something." He finally said. "If you will let me use it… I can put them out of their suffering."

North was silent, his eyes brimming with absolute misery as he managed a single nod. Then he just sat there, gently caressing the reindeer across its head while Pitch went through his medical bag and got out a syringe with a green fluid.

“Will it be quick?” North asked when the Boogeyman approached. Pitch stopped for a moment, but nodded.

“They won’t feel a thing.” He said quietly, before he knelt down next to North. He carefully searched for a proper spot on the reindeer’s neck, dabbed the smallest bit of alcohol and then injected the needle. The reindeer gave a final weak, heaved sound, and then lay still.

North just sat there, as Pitch got up and quietly went to the other reindeer. Just as he had thought, the poor animal had fallen and when it had been caught in its hackamore, its head had been forced upward. Without being able to breathe properly, its tongue had blocked its airways until it had suffocated.

Pitch drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly, taking a moment to quiet his thoughts and steel himself. It seemed that time was of the essence, and that they had to work more now. Starting with checking over the rest of the reindeer, and then… a grim task that Pitch was not looking forward to. Especially not after what had just happened, but it was very necessary.

“North?” He said, standing up and not looking at the Guardian of Wonder. “I’m going to go check on the other reindeer. And afterward… I have something to ask of you. You… don’t have to come with me right now, just stay there.”

He didn’t know if North heard him or not, and right now it didn’t matter. The Guardian of Wonder was in no condition to do anything right now, and there was so much to do. So Pitch went to work.

He started from where they were currently at, remembering that those had been the reindeer affected the worst first, possibly having gotten a great dosage of the Red Lung disease that Pestilence had dished out at them. And sadly, Pitch observed, they did not look to be in a too good condition, though one reason could be that the herbal concoction for them had dried out. It was also as if the disease had worsened in a matter of hours, possibly minutes, while North and Pitch had been distracted by the birth, but Pitch would need to run some tests to confirm it.

And in a way that he doubted North would agree to. Because sometimes, you could also care too much about your animals.

“North?” He called, when he returned to the cossack, “I’ve checked on the other reindeer.” When North didn’t respond, the Boogeyman steeled himself for what he had to say next.

“I need to perform a necropsy.”

The Russian responded to this, albeit slowly. He frowned slightly, as if he wasn’t certain he had heard right, before he looked to Pitch. “...What?”

“It’s not looking good, North.” Pitch said, deciding to be blunt. “The other reindeer are not in a good state, and while a freshly made concoction for them might stave things off, I think the disease might have mutated. Therefore...” He drew in a deep breath at this, “I need to perform a necropsy.”

He didn’t know if North had fully listened to him, the large cossack sitting quietly with the deceased reindeer, stroking it slowly. But then, he began to move, standing up slowly and giving a tired sigh.

“Very well.” He finally said, “do what you must.” And then: “Do you need anything?”

“… Do you… have a room for butchering?” Pitch asked slowly, “if not, I’ll have to improvise...” he stopped when North to his surprise nodded.

“It is outside, around the back of the workshop.” The large man said, sounding very tired. “I will take you and show.”

“All right.” Pitch said quietly, “you… don’t have to worry about the yeti. I should have enough energy to transport things myself, if it comes to it.”

North made no comment to that, setting off without another word and Pitch quickly following suit, while trying to ignore the slight knot he was feeling in his gut.

 _‘Stop thinking!’_ He scolded himself as they walked, _‘you have a lot of work ahead of you.’_

It was hard not to feel… worried? Concerned? It was hard to say, and Pitch kept himself a few paces behind North as they walked, though he noted that the Yeti wisely kept their distance while watching their leader and the Boogeyman heading out back.

It felt like a long trip, and Pitch was almost tempted to ask _‘are we there yet?’_ before North opened a set of doors that opened up to a set of stairs, leading upward. It didn’t take a genius to realize that it lead to an upper level behind the workshop, which was more out of the way and closer to what Pitch figured was part of the wilderness of the North Pole, or at least so he figured once they got up the flight of stairs to the outside. There were other doors too, which had to lead to other parts of the workshop.

“There leads to ramp.” North explained tiredly as he pointed out some of the doors, “there leads to some parts of storage, and there leads to kitchens. We use butcher house for… different things. Nothing at the moment however. No animals for it, reindeer or otherwise.” He pointed out what looked like a shed at that. “It should be empty, most meat is in kitchen for use. I will notify Yeti that you are not to be disturbed, unless you say otherwise.”

Pitch nodded as North lead him over to the shed and unlocked the door with a key, before opening it for Pitch to inspect the inside.

There were all the tools one could need for the grizzly work that Pitch had ahead of him, and while everything looked very clean, Pitch decided it would be better to be on the safe side.

“It will do.“ he told North. “I’ll get started at once.”

North just nodded, handing Pitch the key before he took a moment to rub his face tiredly. He looked so old and tired, much like when he had been weakened during the Easter Battle. But this time, Pitch felt no triumph, only a hard knot of worry, though he couldn’t fathom why.

“Try… try and get some rest.” Pitch said, “get yourself cleaned up and then get some sleep. I’ll take care of the rest from here.”

The Russian looked at him tiredly, and then gave a weary sigh before he headed off inside. Pitch looked after him for a moment, before shaking himself off.

What was he even doing, lollygagging like this when there was work to do? Shaking his head angrily, he turned to the shed and summoned three medium-sized Nightmares.

“I want everything scrubbed down, top to bottom, and don’t leave so much as an _inkling_ of sand behind!” He said sternly, “I have to perform a necropsy and I don’t need the results contaminated. Understood? You have until I’ve finished up a new concoction for the stables.”

The three Nightmares whinnied in unison and quickly set to work, turning into black dust-devils as they got to work. Their master in the meantime set off inside to get started on a fresh batch of the miasma concoction before transporting the body of the reindeer he was going to make a necropsy on.

So distracted were they by their different tasks that North, Pitch and the Nightmares had not taken any notice of a lone, ragged figure standing slightly hidden by one of the other sheds, watching with a keen eye as the Boogeyman went back down the stairs to the workshop.  
\---------------------------------------

Fixing up the concoction didn’t take too long at least, and Pitch got a fire under it going the minute he went into the stables. Once the gentle fumes of the miasma began to spread steadily, Pitch quickly checked on the reindeer again, frowning when he noticed that some of them seemed to have gotten worse in the mere minutes he had been gone.

“Just hold on,” he muttered gently to one reindeer that had laid down in its box. “I’ll do my best to get you better. You want to feel better for North, don’t you?”

The exhausted reindeer only responded with a weak cough and Pitch looked at it sadly, before he headed back to the stables with the two deceased reindeer.

Closing his eyes, both to concentrate and to slightly block out the sight of the dead animals, he summoned what little powers he had gained from the faint anxieties and fears that he had gathered from his time at the workshop. It wasn’t much, and it wasn’t quite as potent as that of a child could be, but it would do for this moment.

Both reindeer came with him, even though it left him winded as they arrived at their destination. One reindeer was gently placed in the snow outside, while the other was brought inside the shed, once Pitch was certain that the shed had gotten thoroughly sterilized. This included himself, the Nightmares scouring over him at his command, removing any grain of dirt that he’d gotten on himself at the maternity stables.

Now came the real dirty work.

The first thing he did was to set up a Nightmare to take down dictation. Odd as it might seem, once they got used to it, they were quite capable of different tasks, especially dictation which in itself was useful when Pitch himself was going to have his hands occupied and he had no other means of taking notes (he could perhaps have asked North for a tape recorder or something, but he didn't want to disturb the Guardian of Wonder more than necessary.)

"Beginning necropsy report, attempt number one." Pitch said, adding the number in case he got interrupted by something, before speaking the date and year.

"Animal's given name was Barak(1). Species Rangifer Tarandus also known as reindeer. Sex was male and he was four years old.

Death was caused by euthanasia as Barak was too far gone to be saved. He was found in his box in the stables lying down after collapsing, unable to move, and had euthanasia not been applied, he would possibly have perished on his own...."

Talking and generally working helped to pass the time. The shed had to be magically isolated, Pitch thought as he examined the organs. The blood that hadn't coagulated yet was steaming as it was exposed to the otherwise cold air, and there was no sign of frost or rime of any sort appearing on the flesh (this was a process that would otherwise take time, but in a place as cold as the North Pole, such symptoms could at times appear in seconds, especially in dead flesh in such temperatures such as these) which only made sense, because while you wouldn't mind the meat being kept fresh in a butcher shed, it wouldn't do either for it to be completely deep frozen at times. Depending on what you needed it for of course.

As it was, whatever was used for the shed worked in Pitch's favor. He didn't know how long he stood there as he examined everything, from samples of blood to all of the organs (the lungs were in poor condition, no surprise there, and there were signs of the heart taking damage as well as a result, along with a bit of the digestive system.)

The second reindeer ("Tondra(2)", female, three years old,) was slightly different (this applied to the frost as well, as she had been out in the snow while Pitch had performed the necropsy on the first reindeer). This had been the one who had fallen and had been caught in its hackamore, only to be strangled from its own blocked airways. Her lungs however had a different color along with her heart not showing as many signs of strain, Pitch noticed with interest, which suggested that while there had been a possible mutation in the disease, there was a difference between how each of the reindeer had been affected. As far as Pitch was able to tell, if the poor animal hadn't fallen and died the way she had, she might have been able to survive.

In theory anyway.

"Final note:" Pitch said out loud to the Nightmare dictating for him. "Signs show that there might be some hope for these animals, if my theory proves correct. The difference in genders might also mean there is a difference in the way they are affected by the Red Lung disease. I might not be able to save all of the animals, but with my results from the necropsy, I can at least find a place to start when it comes to developing the vaccine. End report."

The Nightmare snorted softly, finishing its dictation before making certain the papers were set in proper order. Pitch silently dismissed it after that, wordless ordering it to bring the report to where he was keeping his lab equipment.

Then, with a tired sigh, he summoned a few more dog-sized Nightmares and began to clean up. Samples were stored away, while other fluids were cleared away to leave the butcher shed in the same clean condition it had been lent out in, before Pitch finished off with cleaning himself off with some antibacterial liquid that the Nightmares had brought him. It was cold as hell to do it outside, but he felt it was important to properly decontaminate himself. (Besides, it helped him think over what he was going to say to North next.)

Finally, the remains of the two reindeer were taken outside, where they were carefully placed at a distance away from the workshop. It was necessary with what was to come next.  
\----------------

North had not gone back to rest, as Pitch learned when he arrived at his room. Instead, the large Russian was sitting on the edge of the bed, seemingly staring out at nothing. He had left the door to his room open, and barely looked up when Pitch knocked on the doorframe to get his attention.

“North?” Pitch said slowly. “I have- I have finished the necropsy. I compiled all of my results in a report for you to read.”

“And?” North asked, sounding as exhausted as he looked.

“And I have taken what samples I needed, and cleaned up everything else.” Pitch said quietly. “North… I have the bodies outside the butchering area. I thought you might… want to come and say goodbye before the final procedure.”

“Procedure?” North repeated, looking up at Pitch with exhausted confusion.

“Or not procedure…” Pitch said with an annoyed grimace, “I’ve been working for hours, you understand, words get mixed around… we have to burn the bodies, North. To be on the safe side. And as I said, I thought you would want to say goodbye. I have some of my Nightmares preparing them as we speak.”

The Guardian sat quietly for a while, before he nodded slowly. “I’ll be there.” He said, making himself get up from the bed. “Just need to- to get dressed for the outside.”

“Of course.” Pitch said, “I’ll… go on ahead.” He turned and hurried away before allowing North to say anything else, feeling annoyingly awkward.

 _‘You’re tired,’_ he told himself. _‘Of course you don’t know what to properly say.’_

Once back outside, he came to a halt however when he spotted the familiar form of one Jack Frost, who was currently poised on top of his staff while peering down at the bodies of the reindeer. When he spotted Pitch, he actually had the nerve to wave! Even if there did seem to be a slight awkwardness to it, the Boogeyman noticed as he came closer to the winter spirit.

“So… hi.” Jack said slowly, before he jumped down on the ground and picked up his staff to rest it over his shoulder. Then: “Uhm… I came by to tell North, that the caravan is almost here. They’re only a few hours away. I spotted them earlier today, and kept them company to keep the worst of a blizzard off their backs.” He glanced towards the dead reindeer, grimacing slightly.

Pitch decided that he was simply too tired to argue and just… sighed.

“Before you ask, we had part of a blizzard too, but that didn’t cause their deaths. We’ve been… very busy.” He rubbed his face with a hand, grimacing as he did so. “One of the reindeer in the maternity stable went into early labor, and the calf was breached. Mother and baby are fine, thankfully. But in return… we lost these two in the main stable. I only just finished a necropsy to learn more about what the disease has been doing to their bodies.”

Jack frowned as he listened, but nodded along the way and much to Pitch’s relief didn’t start asking any stupid questions, or for details about the deaths. Instead he pulled his shoulders up to his ears. “I hope you got something out of it.” He said.

“We’ll see.” Was all Pitch would say, as North arrived at that moment, having been properly dressed for the cold.

He was at least pleasantly surprised at the sight of Jack, and greeted him with a light hug. When he pulled away, he turned to the bodies of the reindeer and looked at them for a long moment with deeply saddened eyes.

They stood like that in silence for a moment, the wind howling mournfully around them. Pitch shuddered a bit, grimacing. Was it him, or was the wind feeling colder than usual, even to him?

Finally, after a long moment of silence, North spoke up:  
“Stand back.” He said, before he closed his eyes for a moment, holding out his hands towards the bodies. Pitch was about to ask what he was doing, when a burst of flame erupted at sudden, spreading quickly over the cold bodies and setting them aflame. Pitch had let out a startled squawk, while Jack stepped back with a noise of surprise himself, holding his staff up protectively.

“Bloody hell, **_give a warning_** when you do that!” Pitch exclaimed. “Just going ‘stand back’ is not nearly enough!”

“My apologies.” North replied, not looking at the Boogeyman. “I did not mean to startle you.”

“Yeah Pitch, North didn’t mean to ruffle your feathers.” Jack teased lightly. Pitch only scowled at them both.

“I’m going back inside. The sooner I get to work on that vaccine, the better.” He turned to leave, then paused for a moment. “Speaking of which, North, Jack reports that your yeti caravan should here in a matter of hours. Let me know, so I can find out if any of their cargo can be useful.”

“Thank you, Jack.” North said. “And… thank you, Pitch.”

Pitch had begun to walk but paused, scowling. “For what exactly?”

“Thank you, for doing what you could for Barak and Tondra.” North replied. “Had they lived, I know they would have appreciated it as well.”

The Boogeyman was silent for a while, before he fumed. “I’m just paying off a debt.” He scoffed, before stomping off.

“Geez...” Jack muttered. “You’d think he would like a bit of appreciation for the work he’s been doing. Instead, he just bites your head off.”

“It’s his way, Jack.” North replied patiently, still watching as the flames consumed the bodies. “You might have turned out the same, if the only company you’d ever had was yourself and animals. And I speak of millennial years of loneliness, not simply three hundred. No offense.”

Jack was silent for a while, before he finally shrugged. “No… I get it.” The winter spirit replied. “Which reminds me… Pitch said something about one of the reindeer giving birth?”

North managed a smile at that. “Let’s go inside, and I’ll tell you about it.” He said. “The fire can manage itself… when it has died out, the wind and the snow can handle the rest.”

Jack nodded, following North inside. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter notes!
> 
> (1) Barak is a Greek form of the Hebrew Baraq, meaning "flash of lightning."  
> (2) Tondra is Esperanto for "Thunder." See what I did there? :V
> 
> also thank you to ecommons.cornell.eu for the handbook in how to perform necropsy on animals, along with thanks to Sumi-Sprite for giving me the correct term (I was about to use autopsy instead of necropsy.)


End file.
